Cold Asian Tofu Salad

Cold Asian Tofu Salad

Another recipe designed for vegetarians, but surprisingly popular with meat eaters, this salad can be mixed up from start to finish in less than five minutes and makes for a great side dish or main meal – especially on hot summer nights like this one. This recipe makes about two cups of salad, which I will usually serve on tender lettuce leaves. You can either eat the salad and the lettuce separate, cut them up into small pieces, or do what I like best which is to use the lettuce to make a low-calorie wrap-like sandwich. If you cannot find red pepper seasoned rice vinegar, you can use seasoned or plain rice vinegar and add hot peppers or additional cayenne pepper to taste. Roasted garlic seasoned rice vinegar also makes for a great dressing, and so does the addition of some roasted or fresh finely minced garlic. You should not toss together the salad in advance, but you can dice the tofu and mix the dressing ahead of time and just toss together quickly before serving. If you want to add some more vegetables, cucumbers, mushrooms, spinach, bean sprouts, and radishes are a few favorites – although almost any fresh, raw vegetable can work well. If you have the extra calories to work with, a tiny drizzle of toasted sesame oil makes for a nice touch. Likewise, to cut calories, you can omit the sesame seeds.

1 block of firm tofu (Nigari) (228 calories, 26.4 grams protein)
2 tablespoons red pepper seasoned rice wine vinegar (for testing we used Roland Crushed Red Pepper Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar (40 calories)
2 tablespoons soy sauce (16 calories, 2 grams protein)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
2 sliced scallions (10 calories, .6 grams protein)
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger (or to taste)
Dash cayenne pepper
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 leaves of Boston or Bibb lettuce
1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (for testing we toasted Bob's Red Mill Sesame Seeds(23 calories, .8 grams protein)

Pat the tofu dry on paper towels, dice, and set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, cilantro, ginger, and scallions until well-mixed. Taste and adjust the amount of salt, cayenne, and black pepper if needed. Add the tofu and toss well to coat with the dressing. Spoon the mixture into the lettuce leaf cups and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Makes 4 ½ cup servings.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
317 calories, 29 grams protein total
79 calories, 7.25 grams protein per serving