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Simone Appetit: Hiyayakko — cold tofu salad

This easy tofu salad — no grilling, no stuffing, no weird shapes — is how tofu is meant to be eaten.
Courtesy Simone Grandmain |

You know, tofu gets a bum wrap. I think this is because we westerners keep trying to force it into weird shapes that makes us comfortable.

You’ve all seen the tofu dogs, tofu ribs (hello!), tofu hot wings and, of course, the famous Tofurkey. Try stuffing one of those suckers. You will never invite a vegetarian to your home after that experience.

I find the best thing to do with tofu is to keep it simple. If you want to use it in a stir fry as opposed to meat, that’s fine. But make sure you drain it through a cheesecloth (you need to get out as much moisture as possible) and then freeze it. Then it will have the perfect texture, when sliced, to withstand a wok workout.



This Hiyayakko salad is one of my favorites and with summer coming up (Yes. It is. I have put my winter clothes in the attic. So yes. It is.) it is a refreshing and easy go-to. No weird shapes or stuffing involved.



Hiyayakko salad

Ingredients:

2 tbls. soy sauce

2 tsp white sugar

1 16 oz block of silken tofu

1 tbls. fresh ginger, grated

1/2 tsp. green onions, thinly sliced

2 tomatoes, cut into wedges

sprinkling of sesame seeds (optional)

Preparation:

Mix soy sauce and sugar. Set aside. Place drained tofu block in nice bowl surrounded by tomato wedges. Top tofu with ginger then drizzle on soy sauce mixture. Top with green onions and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Enjoy immediately.

Simone Grandmain is an internationally published travel and food writer who currently calls Truckee-Tahoe home. She welcomes your recipes, kitchen “must-haves” and food news at simonegrandmain@gmail.com.


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