Baked Tofu Salad

I served this dish with the potato rosti from Rose Elliot’s Sumptuous Suppers.  The pancakes were okay, but not enough to post about (aside from this one-liner, I guess).  The salad however, was REALLY tasty.  It’s loosely based on the Tofu Salad in Terry Walter’s Clean Food Cookbook, but after realising I didn’t have mayo or mirin, I pretty much ditched the recipe.

Here’s how I made mine:

Ingredients:
1 pkg extra firm tofu

Tofu Marinade:
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp five spice
1/2 tsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Salad:
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsely
5 or 6 fresh sage leaves, minced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/4 cup diced white onion
2 cups fresh spinach
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 Tbsp sesame or peanut oil

Directions:

1. Mix the marinade ingredients together, adjusting ingredients to taste.
2. Cut the tofu into 1 inch cubes and place in a bowl.  Cover with marinade and let stand for at least a half hour, tossing occasionally to ensure all pieces are fully saturated.
3. Preheat oven to 425F.
4. Spread the tofu over a lightly greased baking sheet, and place in oven for 15 minutes, turning tofu occasionally to ensure even coverage.    Be sure to save leftover marinade.
5. Remove from oven and let cool.
   Combine salad ingredients (except the oil) in a bowl.
6. Combine the sesame oil with 1 Tbsp of the marinade.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Toss tofu, dressing and salad ingredients.

The great part of this salad is that you can bake the tofu on the weekend, and serve this as a light dinner mid-week in a flash.  We found that the salad alone was filling enough without the potato pancakes, but it could also be a great side dish to any Asian styled meal.

If you’re not keen on the tofu, you could use the marinade on boneless skinless chicken breast (just don’t use the sauce in the dressing after you’ve marinated the chicken).

I’d put a Toughest Critic rating here, but he’s upstairs bathing the dog, and I’ve learned not to interrupt that special time, or risk being roped in to helping.  I’d rather not end up covered in dog shampoo tonight, so we’ll just assume he says ‘tasty cakes’.  :P