I was jazzed with the idea of making non-soy tofu, but wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do with it. So I turned to Southeast-Asian food expert Naomi Duguid. Her gorgeous cookbook has pretty much become my Burmese cooking Bible over the past couple weeks. I chose her tofu salad recipe because it reminded me of Hawaiian tofu poke, one of the only dishes that can get me excited about tofu.
It’s not a complicated recipe. Cubes of chickpea tofu are tossed with a hefty amount of cilantro, toasted sesame seeds and a garlic and shallot oil dressing. However, it was devoured within minutes… just about the same amount of time it took to throw together. So, so good.
Duguid’s recipe called for soy sauce, but I prefer fish sauce. I just love the depth and funkiness that fish sauce adds in stir-fries and dressings. But feel free to stick to soy sauce, Bragg’s liquid aminos or even coconut aminos to make this vegan / vegetarian friendly.
And unlike a lot of other Southeast Asian salads, this one doesn’t pack any heat. Burmese dishes tend to be somewhat mild, but plenty of chili pepper chutneys and sauces are set on the table for folks to selectively add heat when desired. So if you’re a fan of Sriracha, keep it handy. Otherwise I should have a Burmese chili pepper sauce posted in the not-too-distant future that worked great as a spicy condiment for this salad.
Burmese Tofu Salad with Sesame and Cilantro
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
3 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon fish sauce
3 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 Tablespoons shallot oil
1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Combine the cubed tofu, sesame seeds and cilantro in a large bowl and toss to combine.
In a small bowl, combine the garlic, fish sauce, rice vinegar, shallot oil and salt and whisk to combine. Pour the dressing over the tofu mixture and toss to coat. Serve immediately or let marinate for 15-20 minutes for the flavors to meld, if you prefer.