Asian Style Crispy Tofu Salad

We came up with the perfect summer salad to get you fuelled with a ton of plant goodness! We mixed a bunch of fresh ingredients, added perfectly crispy slices of tofu, and tossed it all in an Asian style dressing. And we end up with a satisfying and super light vegan delight. 

I love having a light lunch that covers all my munching needs. But I also need something that allows me to keep moving throughout the rest of the day. How awful is that feeling of eating a heavy meal and needing a nap straight away? 

Well, we can always avoid this nasty feeling by eating right. Your body uses a lot of energy to digest the food you put in your belly. That's why you either get the chills or really tired after a heavy meal. So, the easier we make things for our digestive system, the more energy we have left to do all the other things we have to do. 

During these warmer days, I love abusing my salad game. I have a summer-salad section in my recipe book and I heavily rely to feed myself and my family. But I know some tossed lettuce is not a real meal, we need more substance! 

For this recipe, I made a batch of an incredibly flavourful crispy tofu so we can call this summer salad a meal. You'll need simple ingredients which you probably already have at home and it's super easy to make. 

First of all, we need extra firm tofu sliced into rectangles. I cut the tofu and put it in a clean cloth or towel to get as much moisture out as I can. You can leave it there for a while you prepare the marinade and get the other ingredients ready. We want to get rid of the moisture so the marinade really sinks in! 

For the marinade, I mixed maple syrup, vinegar, and soy sauce. I transferred the tofu to a plate and coated it with the marinade. It will infuse better the longer it sits in this mixture. So leave it for at least five minutes. 

We said we made crispy tofu, and by crispy, we meant super extra crispy. I'm using a technique I learned while living in Asia and I fell in love with it. This little trick will add a ton of flavour and texture to your salad.

We are covering the tofu slices with coconut flakes and sesame seeds, and pan-frying them until we have a beautiful golden brown color. If you want to go above and beyond, throw the slices in the oven for around 5 minutes. This is another level of taste and crispiness! 

For the salad, I tossed baby spinach, red cabbage, and cherry tomatoes. And for the dressing, since I wanted to stick with the Asian-inspired taste, I simply used orange juice and peanut butter and mixed it with the veggies. 

Throw some slices of crispy tofu on top of your salad and enjoy this super satisfying and extra light lunch!