This water spinach and tofu salad is light but still satisfying: snappy stems, golden fried tofu and crushed roasted peanuts over the top. The sour and sweet dressing goes on in two rounds, so the flavor soaks through while the plate stays dry.
The hardest part is water spinach that wilts and weeps, which makes the plate unappealing at a glance. The greens are blanched for exactly 2 minutes and dropped straight into iced water, then pressed thoroughly dry. Tossing in two rounds with the liquid poured off in between is what keeps the salad from going soggy.
This batch weighs about 388g, at roughly 29 calories per 100g.
Method
Pick out the tender stems of the water spinach, discard the tough bases and most of the leaves, rinse and drain.
Cut the tofu into pieces about 3cm thick, fry them golden in hot oil, lift onto paper towels, cool and slice small.
Roast 50g peanuts until golden, rub off the skins and crush them. Rinse 100g bean sprouts, blanch briefly and drain. Rinse the Vietnamese balm or Vietnamese coriander and chop roughly.
Mix the dressing from 2 tablespoons vegan fish sauce, 2 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 1 tablespoon vinegar, stirring until dissolved, and add 1 teaspoon minced chili for heat.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, add 1 teaspoon fine salt, blanch the water spinach for about 2 minutes, then lift it straight into a bowl of iced water to keep it green and crisp, and press out the water.
First toss: put the water spinach, bean sprouts and tofu in a bowl, pour over half the dressing, toss well, then leave for 5 to 6 minutes and pour off the liquid.
Second toss: pour over the rest of the dressing, toss again and pour off the liquid so the salad stays dry. Finally fold in the herbs and half the peanuts, arrange on a plate and scatter the remaining peanuts over the top.
Tips
Water spinach blanched just to the point of tenderness and dropped into iced water stays green and snappy.
Strict vegetarians can leave out the onion, garlic and chili and use fried leek instead.
The kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so stir the dressing, let it stand 5 minutes and stir once more before it goes on the salad.
Water spinach pressed dry by hand or in a weighted colander keeps the dressing from thinning out and going bland.
Roasted peanuts go on just before serving, as an early toss leaves them soft and dull.
Fried tofu cooled completely before slicing holds together, while hot tofu crumbles.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.