Spicy Tofu Salad

Name: Spicy Tofu Salad
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons peanuts, roasted and crushed; a pinch of sea salt; 2 tablespoons peanuts, roasted; 4 red shallots, chopped; 1 small carrot, cut into julienne; 3 long red chillies, deseeded and chopped; 100 g (3½ oz) bean sprouts, trimmed; 2 tablespoons grated palm sugar (jaggery); 150 g (5½ oz) marinated pressed tofu, cut into 6 even pieces; 1½ tablespoons tamarind water; 1 tablespoon light soy sauce; vegetable oil, for deep-frying; 1 small Lebanese (short) cucumber, finely sliced

Preparation info

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Balance and Harmony

By Neil Perry

Published 2008

About

I love the texture of this pressed tofu with the sour fruitiness the tamarind gives the dressing. It’s perfect with a big spoonful of steamed rice.

You can be very precise when cutting the vegetables for this salad, or much more rustic. I like to add some chopped cooked king prawns to this dish — if you want to jazz it up, some white-cut chicken, or a prawn and chicken combination would be great as well.