Last week, I have been eating a lot of cheesecakes and rice late at night. So, I decided to go on a diet and reduce my carbohydrate intake even just at dinner. Luckily, we have a lot of melon and watermelon at my husband's hometown. So right after we finished our a-bit-late lunch, I asked my mother-in-law to not prepare anything for me for dinner because I was hoping I could just eat fruits and the usual vegetable salad. She said, "Really? Well, how about tofu salad? It's more nutritious." I've never eaten tofu salad, but then I said yes and thanked her.
Then came dinner and my tofu salad. It looked mostly like I expected; but I thought it would be unfried silken tofu cubes mixed amongst the colorful salad vegetables. It wasn't. It was lightly fried. When I took a chopstickful (can i say that?), the experience burst into my mouth in slow-motion and with some dramatic wind effect on my face, as if I was awaken from a deep sleep. It felt like all five of my senses just came home after relentlessly and meaninglessly wandering earth. I guess that's the strike of the vinegars and sweetness of the vegetables. The following night, I asked if I can eat the tofu salad again. It was like a newly discovered addiction.
Ingredients
tofu, 1 block (cut into 10 small rectangles)
salad vegetables like lettuce/ baby leaf, paprika, broccoli sprouts, broccoli, shiso*, etc
DRESSING
rice wine vinegar, 1 tbsp
balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tbsp
olive oil, 3 tbsp
sugar, 2 tsp
salt and pepper to taste
*shiso (Perilla frutescens var crispa) is an aromatic herb with a quite pungent taste and is commonly used in Japanese dishes; also known as perilla or "beefsteak plant".
Procedure
Put a nonstick pan over medium high heat and brush it with a little oil. Lightly fry both sides of the tofu pieces. Turn off heat and arrange tofu on a plate.
Cut the salad vegetables and top it on the tofu .
Prepare the dressing by mixing rice wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour over the salad vegetables. Serve fresh!
Tips and tricks If the dressing comes on too strong for you, please adjust the dressing with water. :) The picture on the right is another version with stir-fried broccoli, lettuce and baby leaf instead of paprikas. :)