Hawaiian Tofu Salad Recipe

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This a great easy dinner or lunch. It's light but flavorful. 

If tofu makes you nervous, this is a good one to try. Tofu doesn't have much flavor really. It takes on the flavor of any marinade or sauce you cook it in. Cut the tofu pieces on the small side and bake it until it starts to brown. Half the block is plenty for 2 generous salads but you could cook all of the tofu and use the remaining in a stir fry with veggies. Once baked in the oven, tofu will keep for a week in the fridge or you can even freeze it. It's a very cheap plant protein (the 12 oz block I recently bought was $1.20); high in calcium and potassium and a 4 oz portion has over 9 grams of protein and about 80 calories.



What you'll need: (for 2 dinner sized salads)

1/2 block extra firm tofu (about 6 oz.)
1 small can pineapple tidbits in juice
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
1 large head romaine, chopped
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp crumbled feta
1/4 cup crunchy chow mein noodles or 1 Tbsp sunflower seeds (optional)


What you'll do:

Press the water out of your tofu using lots of paper towels under the tofu, more paper towels on top of the tofu, and a weighted pan on top. (I place my tofu in a paper towel-lined pie plate, then more paper towels, another pie plate, and then place 3-4 cans from the pantry in the top pie plate. Allow it to press for a good 20-30 minutes to get it nice and dry.) Cut the tofu into even 1  inch slices/cubes and place it in a large ziploc bag. Strain the juice from the pineapple into a bowl. Add soy sauce, grated ginger, and minced garlic to taste. Pour the marinade into the ziploc bag with the tofu. (I double the marinade and prepare the whole block of tofu. Bake once, eat twice.)
Marinate the tofu in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (overnight is even better). Remove tofu and place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray or use a silicon cooking mat (reserve the marinade). Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. I like to bake the tofu until it is pretty firm and dry and just starting to brown on the edges. 
For the Hawaiian dressing: add 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 Tbsp olive oil, and 1 Tbsp rice vinegar to the reserved marinade and mix well.
Divide romaine on serving plates. Top with tofu, pineapple tidbits, onion, cucumber, feta cheese and crunchy noodles or seeds. Drizzle with Hawaiian dressing.