Tofu Poke

All right, here is the tofu poke recipe to which I was referring in the Tofu Salad with Miso Dressing post. I know you soy lovers were just soaking your beans in water for this.

Mini lesson: Poke (POH-kay) is a Hawaiian term roughly meaning "to slice" or "to cut." Don't use this as a reference for any papers, but you get the gist. There are so many types of poke found in supermarkets, fish markets and restaurants (hell, even in a fine wine and liquor store) in Hawai‘i (side note: sorry if the Hawaiian diacritical marks make me look like a haole douchebag who's trying too hard. I write for a publication where it's mandatory to use them, so I just got used to putting those suckers in). Other cultures have similar dishes, like the Chamorro (Guamanian, etc.) kelaguen or South American ceviche. The normal poke is made from raw ‘ahi, which is SO ADDICTING, by the way. You can also find it with different proteins and sauces, such as kimchi tako (octopus) poke, mussel poke, wasabi poke, spicy ‘ahi poke or ... drum roll, please ... tofu poke.

I like this dish because it's affordable, easy to make, relatively low in fat, high in protein and just frickin' tasty. I originally looked to this recipe, but I've made this enough times with some modifications and have found a recipe to my liking. Bring this as a püpü/side to the next barbecue or potluck you attend, or have it with hot rice and your favorite greens for an awesome entree. Like a lot of the other dishes I've posted, ingredient proportions are up to your taste preferences. Dilute the soy sauce if you're worried about sodium content, add more chili flakes if you like spicy, etc.

Tofu Poke Recipe

1 12-ounce block of firm tofu, sliced into bite-sized cubes (first drain the water from the container, wrap the whole block in paper towels and put a weight on it for up to 20 minutes to get some excess moisture out of there, then slice away. Otherwise, your cubes will break apart way too easily and your sauce will get too diluted.)

1/4 cup thinly sliced onion (preferably sweet Maui onion, but yellow or red onion will do)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon Hawaiian sea salt

1 teaspoon dried chili flakes

1/2 cup sliced green onions (once again, f*ckyeahgreenonions!)

1/2 cup re-hydrated wakame (dried seaweed, the kind usually found in miso soup)

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Gently toss everything together, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Sometimes I like to make this a day ahead to really let the flavors meld together and soak into the tofu. This may sound like a strange and unsavory dish upon first introduction, but it always gets great reactions. Eat this, tofu haters! And lovers!

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.