Edamame Tofu Salad with Sesame Chili Dressing

Yes, it's still me writing this. I'm sure you're already worrying about me. Lisa? Tofu Salad? No way! One of my team members at work is super duper healthy and always eating nuts & berries and that sort of nonsense. I give her a hard time about it of course, because I am good at that sort of thing. One day she was eating a tofu salad from this place called Fresh & Co., and she offered me a bite, which I took, expecting to be disgusted. Instead, I wanted more! It was delicious and had such a great combination of flavors and textures. I told the team that I was going to re-create the dish and bring it in, which I did this past Monday, making a few changes along the way. The girls all raved about it and voted it to be ever "fresher" that the Fresh & Co. version, which was the ultimate compliment to me! I have all of the ingredients at home, and if you don't, highly suggest you make the investment. If you don't know what else to do with Mirin or Sesame oil, just contact me and I can send tons of recipes! This is definitely going to be on my recipe rotation, which should keep the co-workers happy!

Salad Ingredients:

4 ounces soba noodles, cooked

1 pound firm tofu (marinated & fried, see below)

2 cups shelled edamame (I blanched for 2 minutes)

1 -2 cups shredded cabbage (napa is preferred, but i used normal cabbage and it was fine)
2 carrots, grated

Fried Tofu Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic, sliced

4-5 slices (1/8-inch thick) of fresh gingerroot

1 cup water

1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1/3 cup tamari or shoyu (I used soy sauce)
Coconut oil (I used canola oil)

Dressing:

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 cloves garlic, pressed

5 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons mirin (or sake)

1 teaspoon grated ginger

2 teaspoons chili sauce (Thai )
¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons hot pepper sesame oil

Garnish:

¼ cup toasted sesame seeds

To prepare tofu:

In the morning, combine all ingredients for marinade. Cut tofu into 1/2” slabs, and then cut slabs into triangles. Put marinade and tofu in a glass storage container with a tight-fitting lid for ½ hour to 8 hours. The longer it sits, the stronger the flavor in the tofu.

Heat ½ of the coconut oil in a skillet to medium high. Remove tofu from marinade and pat dry with a paper towel. This will protect you from sputtering oil. Place ½ of the tofu pieces in oil and brown on both sides. Repeat with remaining oil and tofu. Set aside.

Combine all the dressing ingredients except oils in a small bowl. Drizzle olive oil and sesame oil in slowly and whisk well to incorporate. Dress cooked soba noodles with 2 tablespoons of the dressing while still warm.

Arrange noodles, tofu, edamame, carrots and cabbage in separate piles on a large serving platter. Garnish noodles with the sesame seeds. Put dressing in a small pitcher. Try to have prettier plates at your job than I do.

Undressed:

Dressed: