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This salad is a symphony of flavors and textures. It has raw things and cooked things. Crunchy things and soft things. Salty things and spicy things. Something sour and something sweet. It even has that pleasing savory flavor known as umami.
Some of the ingredients -- like tamarind paste, fish sauce, and shrimp paste -- may require a special trip to an Asian grocery. I believe it's worth keeping them on hand just to make this recipe, although they can be used in many other Asian dishes.
You can add a variety of raw vegetables to this salad. This time I added red bell pepper, shaved on a mandolin, and finely chopped scallions. Other times I've added thinly sliced snow peas, shredded carrots, baby spinach, or chopped cucumber. Use what you like and have on hand, and chop it into bite-sized pieces.
This dish gets its umami from shrimp paste and fish sauce. If you want to make a vegetarian or vegan variation, substitute miso paste or Korean doenjang for the shrimp paste, and tamari or soy sauce for the fish sauce. If you have high blood sugar or if you're doing a detox, omit the honey. If your lime isn't organic, omit the zest.
You can serve this salad as a starter or a main course. Eat it with a fork or wrap up a few forkfuls at a time in fresh lettuce leaves using clean hands.
Ingredients:
Directions:
This salad is a symphony of flavors and textures. It has raw things and cooked things. Crunchy things and soft things. Salty things and spicy things. Something sour and something sweet. It even has that pleasing savory flavor known as umami.
Some of the ingredients -- like tamarind paste, fish sauce, and shrimp paste -- may require a special trip to an Asian grocery. I believe it's worth keeping them on hand just to make this recipe, although they can be used in many other Asian dishes.
You can add a variety of raw vegetables to this salad. This time I added red bell pepper, shaved on a mandolin, and finely chopped scallions. Other times I've added thinly sliced snow peas, shredded carrots, baby spinach, or chopped cucumber. Use what you like and have on hand, and chop it into bite-sized pieces.
This dish gets its umami from shrimp paste and fish sauce. If you want to make a vegetarian or vegan variation, substitute miso paste or Korean doenjang for the shrimp paste, and tamari or soy sauce for the fish sauce. If you have high blood sugar or if you're doing a detox, omit the honey. If your lime isn't organic, omit the zest.
You can serve this salad as a starter or a main course. Eat it with a fork or wrap up a few forkfuls at a time in fresh lettuce leaves using clean hands.
Ingredients:
- 1 block extra firm sprouted organic tofu
- 1/4 cup tamarind paste
- 1 teaspoon shrimp paste
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 shallot
- Thumb-sized chunk of fresh ginger
- 2 organic limes
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 scallions, finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, shaved on a mandolin
- Handful fresh basil, rolled up and thinly sliced into ribbons
- Handful fresh cilantro, the roots, leaves, and stems finely chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped blistered peanuts (or substitute dry roasted peanuts)
- Fresh chili peppers, finely chopped
Directions:
- Drain the tofu by placing it in a shallow bowl with a weight on top to squeeze out some of the excess liquid. Discard the liquid and crumble the tofu into bite-sized pieces.
- Prepare the cooking liquid by dissolving the tamarind paste, shrimp paste, fish sauce, and honey in the boiling water. Set it aside.
- Warm the oil over medium heat, then saute the shallots until soft and starting to brown.
- Grate the fresh ginger into the pan, enough to yield 2 heaping tablespoons or more.
- Add the crumbled tofu and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the tofu dries out and starts to stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Grate the garlic into the pan and stir to combine.
- Zest the limes into the pan, then cut them in half. Juice 2 halves into the pan and stir to incorporate any brown bits on the bottom into the sauce.
- Add the cooking liquid and stir it in thoroughly. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook until the liquid has reduced and the tofu mixture resembles scrambled eggs. Remove the tofu from the heat and set aside to cool until it's warm (not hot) or room temperature.
- In a large bowl toss together the scallions, bell pepper, basil, cilantro, peanuts, and fresh chilies.
- Add the cooled tofu mixture to the bowl and toss everything together. Taste the salad for seasoning and make any necessary adjustments, like adding the remaining lime juice.
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