Ok so puns are a thing in my life that serve so much joy! They’re like the grade A -top shelf-dad jokes that never grow old.
Other things that don’t grow old are FLAVOURS AND TEXTURES.
Let’s discuss a bit. If I were fancy enough and could show you a Venn Diagram of how FLAVOURS and TEXTURES are equal to the joy and satisfaction I get in life as well as share the unexpected other awesome potential for combos and visual appears it would be the one with 4 circles that overlap perfectly to show it isn’t just 4 themes… its like 13 unexpected great miracle babies…
Before I get too crazy and go off the rails, today’s lunch is this Bahn Mi inspired salad with CRISPY yummy Thai Chili Tofu.
Want the recipe? So glad – it’s right below.
Bahn Mi Salad
Ingredients
- Rice Noodles
- Romaine
- Bell Peppers
- Red Cabbage
- Daikon
- Bean Sprouts
- Green Onion
- Cilantro
- Jalapeno
- Lime
- Mint
- Carrot
- Firm Tofu
- Thai Chili Sauce
- Neutral Oil (for cooking tofu)
Directions
- To cook your rice noodles (I used the pad thai style so they are about 1/2 inch thick) boil water and add noodles in. From here I turn the heat off and let them cook in the water for ~4-6 minutes.
- Drain noodles and rinse under cold water – now cold noodles are the only time I will ever say this to you as when you’re cooking say a pasta, you want the starch in the water for the sauce always! Set aside
- Take 1 head of Romaine per person and chop to bite size pieces you can rip / tear also honestly its whatever you want!
- Prep your other veg – carrots I love to enjoy them in salads either in matchsticks or ribbons that are rolled… plus they look pretty., mint and lime are for garnish once serve, bean sprouts can be added on the side and cabbage and bell peppers can be sliced or chopped. The daikon I peel first and then cut into matchsticks so I get a piece per bite (remember yesterday’s post TEAMBIGBITE right here!!!)
To Cook the Tofu here are a few tips as you may have some ways that you prefer:
- Drain liquid from tofu and place between paper towel or clean dishcloths
- Add heavy weight to press added liquid out (at least 30 mins – overnight)
- Slice thin in strips or chop into cubes – this is totally your call
- In a bowl combine 1 cup corn starch with salt, pepper, garlic powder (literally pinches to your preferred taste) just be sure to coat evenly and fully each piece of tofu
- In a pan heat neutral oil until hot and ready to “fry”
- Add in your tofu ensuring that you DON’T CROWD THE PAN they need space to dance!
- Now, my husband taught me a great tip/trick – you want your oil to cover 1/2 way up the side of the tofu – if you cut strips this will be considerably less than if you had cubes BUT what this does is allows the oil to jump and cook through quicker resulting in less turns.
- As the sides brown (usually around 2 mins per side) rotate your tofu until each side is golden and cooked
- Remove any cooked pieces onto a rack to allow any excess oil to drain (honestly I do this over a baking sheet to avoid any oil on the counter or chop block etc. but again this is your cooking and your cleaning – you do you – just know, you want it drained.
- Once it is cooked in a clean bowl I add the Thai Chili Sauce and coat the tofu and top to the salad
Now you can also make your own Thai Chili Sauce but I am SO all for finding short cuts that give you time back to what is important. Sure making a sauce on the weekend can be really fun and trust me I make all dressings and about 75% of the sauces we use; however during the week or for a lunch or when I want to clean out the fridge items and use up bottoms you’ll find me dumping that giant-ass-Costco-size bottle of Thai Chili in a bowl to coat.
Next you’re left to enjoy your salad. Seriously its too great and brings so much joy.
Dressings or added sauces can be a choose your own adventure but I usually drift towards my tangy peanut butter sauce because that ALWAYS brightens my day and is quick to make (or is already in my fridge SCORE)!!!
The cool thing about this type of salad is you really have so much flexibility to what you add. You can mix proteins and add chicken or shrimp; you can add more toppings like peanuts or mango, change up the type of radish use or what other crunch factors there are. Just embrace the chance to get crazy and have fun!