My summer salad series will feature several of my favourite refreshing and light salads, mostly with complimentary flavours from different cuisines.
The Salad Dressing
I’ve used this dressing from Kayanoya, a Japan-based seasoning company that brings the most authentic Japanese flavourings to your table. This company has a 120 year history with making traditional soy sauce. They vow to not use any artificial flavorings or preservatives. I discovered this about 6 months ago and absolutely love all their vegetarian seasonings. I am a huge believer in the fact that your food can only taste as good as your ingredients, so invest wisely in your ingredients when you are cooking, if you want good food!
This white sesame dressing has the following ingredients:
- Mayonnaise
- Sugar
- Rice Vinegar
- Soy Sauce
- Fermented sesame
- Sesame paste
- Mirin
- Sesame oil
- Salt
- Starch
- Spices
A little of this dressing goes a long way! It does not taste very sweet, it’s got a good balance of bitter sesame, so I combine this with Kayanoya’s Fried Onion and Soy Sauce dressing to enhance the salad a little more. I would also like to state here that adding a dash of freshly squeezed orange juice will make this salad taste really good!
The Salad Ingredients
For the leaves, I like a very flavourful herby salad, so I added parsley and cilantro together with the mixed salad leaves of spinach, romaine, red chard, arugula and red leaf. If you don’t like the taste of parsley, don’t add that in. If you want to experiment, definitely use the tip above and add the dash of orange juice to balance the bitterness of the parsley.
For the toppings, I added crumbled sautéed black bean tofu, boiled edamame, julienned carrots, cucumber and baby corn. You don’t need anything else because the flavours in the tofu make this salad what it is! You can certainly experiment by adding fresh mandarin oranges in the salad instead of the freshly squeezed orange juice, or some fresh lychee. May sound unconventional, but it’s definitely unconventionally YUM, and that is what my style is all about! Try it and let me know what you think.
The Recipe
I hope you enjoy this! Give this a rating once you’re done making this, I would really appreciate your comments 🙂
Summer Salad: White Sesame Edamame with Crumbled Tofu
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Pot
- Knives
- Chopping Board
- Spatula/Wooden Spoon
- Strainer/Colander (for boiled edamame)
- Stainless Steel Bowls
- Salad Bowl
- Salad Tongs
- Salad Strainer (for salad leaves)
Ingredients
- 2 handfuls mixed salad leaves
- 1/2 bunch parsley (whole leaves) or 6 stems of parsley
- 1/2 bunch cilantro (chopped) or 6 stems of cilantro
- 3 stems spring onion (chopped)
- 350 grams organic tofu
- 1 tbsp black sesame oil
- 2 tsps black bean garlic chilli from ForMe Honey
- 1/2 tsp Chinese chilli powder
- 1 tbsp organic soy sauce
- 1 tsp honey/agave/maple syrup
- 1 tsp sushi seasoning optional
- 2 tbsps White Sesame Dressing from Kayaonya
- 2 tbsps Fried Onion and Soy Sauce Dressing from Kayanoya
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice or more if you wish
- 1 cup whole edamame (shelled)
- 1/2 cucumber (julienned)
- 1/2 carrot (julienned)
- 3 baby corn (julienned)
Instructions
- In a boiling pot of water, add the edamame and let it boil for 15 minutes until the beans are soft and you can remove the shell
- In another saucepan, add the sesame oil and let it heat up
- Add the tofu, and use the spatula or the back of a wooden spoon to crumble the tofu. You need to let about 50 percent of the water evaporate from the tofu before you add the seasonings
- After 50 percent of the water has evaporated, add the black beans, and let it sizzle with the tofu on low-medium heat in the saucepan.
- Add the Chinese chilli powder, soy sauce, agave, and sushi seasoning, and blend it all together while crumbling the tofu even further. Mix the tofu regularly.
- While you are waiting for the tofu mixture to dehydrate, wash and strain your salad leaves using the salad strainer.
- Add the parsley, cilantro and spring onions and toss the leaves together.
- Add the cucumber, carrots and baby corn and toss once more
- Remove the shell of the edamame and add the beans to your salad
- Add the crumbled, seasoned and dehydrated tofu
- Add your dressings and the splash of orange juice or fresh fruits as above
- Give this a few final tosses before serving!
- Take a picture and tag @TheVeggieWifey to be featured and loved!
That looked amazing, I’m definitely trying that soon😘
Can’t wait 🙂