Piquant Tofu Salad with Peas and Scallions
Adapted from The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone, Rodale Press 2009—a book we three cooks like a lot.
by: Three Many Cooks
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 package (14 ounces) firm tofu, drained
- ¾ cup frozen peas
- ¾ cup finely chopped celery
- 6 tablespoons coarsely chopped pimento-stuffed olives
- 3 tablespoons rinsed capers
- 3 medium scallions, sliced thin
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 3 tablespoons Vegenaise
- 3 tablespoons umeboshi (plum) vinegar
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 8 Lettuce Leaves
- 4 radishes
- Toasted Pitas
Instructions
- Wrap tofu in a cheesecloth or a clean tea towel and place on a plate. Place a second plate on top and weight to drain additional liquid, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring water to boil in a steamer or a pot fitted with a steamer basket. Add peas; cover and steam until bright green, about 5 minutes; set aside. Unwrap tofu and add it to the steamer basket; cover and steam for 5 minutes. Transfer tofu to a medium bowl; mash with a fork to crumble. Mix in peas, celery, olives, capers, scallions, parsley, Veganaise, vinegar, and lemon juice. Adjust seasonings. Arrange lettuce leaves in a soup plate, top with salad, garnish with radishes and serve with toasted pitas, if desired.
This is my kind of salad!
Any preference for what type of tofu?
Actually Shannon, it’s the extra-firm tofu that works best here. Then make sure to drain, wight, and steam it. After that, it crumbles perfectly for the salad.
Can i find umeboshi vinegar in regular grocery stores?This looks delish!
I found umeboshi vinegar at Whole Foods. I believe it’s also known as plum vinegar. I would guess that rice wine vinegar might be a good substitute. Good luck.
Thanks Pam for this recipe – I normally wouldn’t try making a salad like this, but I’ve made so many of your other recipes and loved them that I figured if you like this recipe, then it MUST be good. 😉 And since I’m introducing tofu into my diet and am looking for a variety of ways to make it, this seemed like the perfect recipe to try. Fortunately for me, I was able to get the plum (umeboshi) vinegar at our local Japanese market. Although I wound up boiling the tofu for 10 minutes instead of pressing it and then steaming it, it came out to be pretty delicious… it’s definitely piquant. Also, this was my first time having vegenaise and oh my.. that stuff is good. Do you have any suggestions for other recipes to use the plum vinegar in?