Red Cabbage and Tofu Salad with Sesame Dressing

Difficulty: Easy

Serves 4

Last year I decided that I was going to start a new family tradition of making Easter lunch. The family seemed to tolerate it last year so I thought I would take the tradition into its second year in 2013 and make an Asian themed feast. Since a few family members (including myself) are still on a health-kick, I thought a salad was a good place to start. My family liked it so I guess being related to each other is working out just fine.

Ingredients

• 1/2 red cabbage
• 3/4 cup bean shoots
• Olive oil spray
• 1 block hard tofu or bean curd
• 3 tablespoons sesame paste (you can get this from Asian groceries)
• Splash of sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons vegan fish sauce (or more soy if you can’t get this)
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons agave or honey substitute
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 spring onion

Method

1. Very finely slice the red cabbage and lay it out nicely on your serving bowl or plate.
2. Take the tails off your bean shoots and scatter them over the red cabbage.
3. Cut your tofu into 1cm x 2cm pieces. Pan fry them with a little spray oil, turning until all sides are golden brown. Set aside to cool.
4. Stack the tofu in the middle of the bed of cabbage and bean shoots so that you can still see the awesome colour.
5. In a food processer, combine the sesame paste, sesame oil, soy and vegan fish sauces, rice wine vinegar, agave and water. Process until well combined. It will be quite a thick dressing but if it’s too think just add a little more water or soy sauce until you get the consistency you’re after.
6. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top.
7. Finish off with sliced spring onion and serve.