Monday, June 29, 2009

Noodle Salad with Crisp Tofu

The thermometer on our back porch shows the current temperature is 107 F. It’s been like this at this time of afternoon for several days now, and because of that, I’ve been in the mood for salads. In fact, every dinner meal I have planned for this week involves a main course salad. The crazy thing, though, is that I’m not opposed to baking or roasting or long simmering in this weather. Once it’s this hot, the added heat from cooking is neither here nor there to me. I’ll happily bake cookies or roast chicken in the summer, but the issue is that what I want to eat in this weather is really just salads. And, ice cream, but more on that later. I issued a warning the other day about how much I’m enjoying Donna Hay’s Off the Shelf, and how I’ll be cooking from it a lot. That’s where I found this noodle salad. The ingredient list is rather short for a salad, but the key element is fried tofu.

I don’t love frying food, and it’s always at least a little messy, but frying tofu might be the messiest of all things to be fried. I started by pressing the block between plates lined with paper towels to remove moisture. Then, after cutting thin pieces, I placed them on paper towels and blotted with more paper towels to remove more moisture. Still, as soon as the tofu pieces hit the hot oil, splattering ensued. I did use a splatter guard, but just in getting the tofu into and out of the pan, there was opportunity for oil to jump its way onto every surface in my kitchen. Before sitting down to dinner, I quickly wiped down the stove and neighboring countertop because it’s so much easier to clean oil before it dries. I was proud of my fast-acting homekeeping action until after dinner when I noticed the floor. So, yes, this dish asks a little of the cook’s patience for frying and cleaning, but I have a solution. If you really don’t want to fry the tofu, you can broil it. I do this all the time to make tofu fries. Coat a baking sheet with spray oil, spread one layer of slivered tofu, then also spray the tops of the tofu with oil, and broil for about three minutes before turning. Continue broiling and turning until the tofu attains the crispness you desire.

The rest of the salad preparation was as simple as can be. Bean thread noodles were briefly cooked and then tossed with carrots, chopped peanuts, cilantro leaves, and a dressing of sesame oil, soy sauce, and lemon juice. That combination was layered onto sliced cucumber and topped with the tofu. I added some chopped hot chiles just because, and I forgot all about the frying ordeal when I tasted the salad. It’s a great mix of textures and the noodles nicely absorbed the flavor of the dressing. I really liked the delicateness of the bean thread noodles which contrasted with the crunchy vegetables and peanuts. For dinner, the salad was served at room temperature, but for lunch the next day, I found it delightful and possibly even better chilled from the refrigerator. Although, that could just be the heat wave talking.



31 comments:

  1. This dish looks absolutely divine. I love all the flavors and cannot wait to give it a try.

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  2. This is fantastic! The noodles look absolutely perfect, as does the tofu. I'm such a wuss when it comes to deep frying so I'd probably take you up on the alternative method. When it's chilled, I can imagine that this salad would make a perfect meal on these incredibly hot days (107F?!?).

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  3. How refreshing! I also find salads to be my choice of food during the hot summer months. The vermicelli noodles look great. Somen and vermicelli are my favorite cold and room temperature noodles to eat in the summer time.

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  4. The tofu sounds right up our alley. That's pretty cool and a great salad. Nice summer dish.

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  5. Refreshing! Hot here in Atlanta Ga This Salad would be perfect tasty ! I love the photos!

    Thanks for sharing your recipe!

    Welcome~~~
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    Join our growing food community and share your recipe!

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    Have a wonderful Day~

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  6. I think your meal is a great way to enjoy tofu! :)

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  7. 107 - wow - this sounds so perfect for that blistering heat

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  8. Whoa!! 107. You can fry an egg on the sidewalk with that kind of temp.

    Anyway...I love noodle salads. You've got me craving for tofu now. It's been a while since I've had tofu. Ironically I've been craving for some lately.

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  9. I'm not much of a rice vercimelli fan, but I know my parents will absolutely LOVE this with the crispy tofu. When I'm feeling generous, I shall make this for them. :-)

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  10. I am not a huge fan of tofu and I also am not too fond of the splattering usually involved in making tofu... :) But I could easily see this dish made with chicken instead. Seems that would save a lot of cleaning up to do! It looks delicious though!

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  11. Can you believe this crazy heat? I'm with you -- a nice, crisp, cold salad is the only thing to eat. Well, that, followed by an ice cream chaser, perhaps. ;)

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  12. I love this recipe! I have this strange addiction to crispy tofu!

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  13. What a lovely salad - I love the fried tofu here! Delicious!

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  14. Delicious salad Lisa. I really like Asian style salad like this. Tofu is always a nice addition to it, plus it is healthier.

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  15. Delicious salad Lisa. I really like Asian style salad like this. Tofu is always a nice addition to it, plus it is healthier.

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  16. Lisa, that looks delicious and perfect for a hot day.

    I love Donna Hay, her things are fast to make and always delicious. I don't have the book you mentioned but have others and love them.

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  17. This does look so good lisa! I've never thought of making tofu fries! Maybe I can finally convince Michael to eat it if I cook it like this :)

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  18. i have a ridiculous fear of frying, which is unfortunate, because i have a love for all things fried. when will my rational mind take charge? soon, i hope, because this looks great!

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  19. I love that you used those noodles!!! I've been wanting to buy some clear noodles (bean thread or other types I've seen) and have been thinking of what to do with them. Your picture looks great.

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  20. This looks really delicious! Definitely worth the frying!

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  21. I'm with you on hating to fry. I'm miserable at it, and so I rarely try it, which makes me even worse at it. But I'm often tempted when it comes to tofu -- either to produce something like you made for this salad, or for tempura purposes (when I'm making sushi). Well, I'm fairly warned that this recipe is as messy as any other that calls for frying -- but I'll probably give it a shot anyway.

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  22. I love this type of noodles, we call it dong fen here. Beautiful food styling!

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  23. That looks amazing! And the contrasting textures must be phenomenal! Gorgeous dish! I am starving and this isn't helping any! hahah!

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  24. This is my kind of food. Lots of flavors and textures.

    To minimize the mess, you might want to try this method. Put the cut up tofu on a paper towel-lined plate and microwave on high for a minute or two, depending on how much tofu. This will dry them up a little and keep the splattering to a minimum.

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  25. What a beautifully presented salad! That looks wonderfully healthy too which is always a bonus :)

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  26. What a gorgeous salad! I love all the layers of flavors and textures, I really want to taste it!

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  27. What a beautiful salad! I love the idea of the fried tofu though the oil splatter everywhere kind of convinces me I shouldn't try it at home! The broiler option sounds excellent though.

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  28. this is just beyond impressive!!! a must try

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  29. I just caught up on all the posts I missed while on vacation and just had to comment on this one. YUM! I always crave this kind of food when I come back from vacation because it's so clean and healthy. I'll make this for my parents this week. Thanks! Oh, and so glad to hear you have an ice cream maker!

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  30. This Asian style salad is wonderful, very creative. I would like to try it too one day.

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  31. There were times when my rental car registered 117, so I am with you on this menu...but of course I chose to stay with a friend and hubby who do not eat vegetables or salad...total carnivores on the meat end, but I tell you what I am going to head straight for those rice baked peaches I see now...YUM!

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