A mother-daughter conversation on food and cooking (mostly)

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Tofu Salad


While laughing ice tea out my nostrils over your potato salad post, I had a flashback about a salad I used to make in Colorado twenty years ago. It was from a Sunset cookbook, and I couldn't find the recipe anywhere. Fortunately, Google to the rescue, and here it is: Shanghai Tofu and Peanut Salad.

I remember having my cousin Mary Ann and her husband Paul over for dinner and serving this. They were conservative eaters, but lovely and very funny people. He frowned when tofu was mentioned. He ate it, though, and smiled, and said, "This isn't as bad as I thought it would be."

This looks complicated, but really I just bake the tofu and marinate it during the day, and then add the rest of the ingredients at serving time. And don't get sidetracked by the limp parboiled bean sprouts--what a lousy idea--just use whatever crisp things you have around. I like snow peas, celery, water chestnuts, etc. Tonight's version had radishes, green onions, cucumbers, cilantro, and cashews instead of peanuts.

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