From My Kitchen

I’m a recent convert to tofu, but I’m a long term fan of Thai food, having loved it since I taught English language classes there at the tender age of 21, and I’d be very happy to eat this salad (or a derivation of it) pretty much every day. Substitute the tofu for anything you fancy (prawns? chicken?) or just leave it out altogether and serve with rice for something more substantial, the options are endless. Use whatever salad ingredients you have to hand, but make sure you include some mint and coriander. Serves 2.

Ingredients

280g ish pack of firm tofu

Slurp of sunflower/veg oil

Few drops of sesame oil

Salad vegetables of choice

Small handful of fresh mint and coriander

1 tbsp palm or light brown sugar

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp peanut butter

Pinch of chilli flakes

1 tbsp chopped peanuts

Method

1. Slice the tofu into bite sized cubes, then pop them onto a kitchen roll lined plate, cover with more kitchen roll and dry them. Set aside.
2. Prep your salad veg and herbs and put in a bowl or on serving plates.
3. Make the dressing by mixing together the sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, peanut butter, and chilli flakes. Taste and adjust any of the balance between sweet, sour, salty and hot.
4. Heat the slurp of veg oil and sesame oil in a large frying pan. Drop in a tiny piece of tofu – it should sizzle when the pan is at temperature.
5. Fry the tofu until golden on all sides – it takes a little while, but getting it browned and crisp makes all the difference.
6. Add the tofu and dressing to the salad and toss to combine.
7. Serve with some extra chopped peanuts for good measure, and tuck in.