Tofu Salad with Miso Dressing

Raw tofu: isn't that only what white people eat?

That's what I always thought. Especially about raw tofu in a freaking salad. No wonder why so many non-Asians say tofu tastes like nothing — it will if you don't know how to prepare it properly! Ma po tofu, do fu fa, kimchi jigae, agedashi tofu — the list of delicious cooked tofu dishes is endless.

This salad, which was inspired by a salad I had at Nordstrom Cafe (serioulsly) and tofu poke (I'll have a post about that in the future) are two dishes that changed my mind about eating raw tofu. So...here ya go:

Tofu Salad

Lettuce

Tomato

Cucumber

Cilantro (as Lisa has said before, cilantro is SO key for flavor in Asian-ish salads)

Green onion (love this stuff. It's probably the fresh herb I use the most often...f*ckyeahcgreenonion! ... see also: cilantro)

Firm tofu

Miso dressing (see recipe below)

Sesame seeds (optional)

Uh, I assume you know how to assemble a salad. If you're not familiar with tofu, working with it sometimes requires you to press a lot of moisture out of it. Wrap it in paper towels and press it by hand (if you feel eco-guilt, wrap one layer of paper towels around the tofu and a dish towel around that to absorb the rest of the moisture). Or for a more thorough pressing, put a weight on it for a few minutes — up to 20 minutes. For this salad, I don't find the need to do more than a quick pressing. How many times can I use the word "pressing" in this paragraph?

Miso Dressing (makes enough for one entree salad)

1 heaping teaspoon of miso paste (you're probably better off using a milder miso paste, like white. "Regular" miso paste will yield a stronger-tasting dressing, which some people may not like)

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Dash fresh minced ginger or few shakes of ginger powder

Water (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together. Add water if you like a thinner consistency. Drizzle over salad, garnish with sesame seeds.

This salad has enough flavor and texture to be a healthy, satisfying meal. For me, that's kind of rare. So TRUST when I say this is a good one.