If you enjoy salads that are both hot and cold, you’ll love this cool and refreshing cucumber and kale salad, topped with sriracha-sautéed tofu.
Featuring cool greens and raw vegetables layered with warm protein, it’s a dish that can be enjoyed year-round, but it’s especially welcome when you need some motivation to eat salad. The sizzling tofu contrasts deliciously with the slaw-style salad.
Complete the meal: As a main-dish salad, you can serve this with fresh bread or sautéed potatoes or sweet potatoes. For a bigger meal, serve with soup or a pasta dish.
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Cool Cucumber and Kale Salad with Hot and Spicy Tofu
This cool and refreshing cucumber and kale salad topped with hot sriracha-sautéed tofu can be enjoyed year-round.
Ingredients
For the tofu
- 14-ounce tub extra-firm tofu
- 1 tablespoon high-heat oil (like safflower)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or agave
- 1 to 2 teaspoons sriracha, or to taste
For the salad
- 4 to 5 leaves curly kale
- 1 medium cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 1/2 head romaine lettuce, thinly shredded
- 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste
- A few sprigs cilantro or parsley, chopped, optional
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut the tofu into 6 slabs crosswise, then blot well between layers of paper towel or clean tea towel. Or, if you have a tofu press, press the tofu ahead of time before slicing. Either way, cut the slabs into small dice.
- Heat the oil, soy sauce, and sriracha in a large skillet or stir-fry pan. Stir together, and when the mixture starts to bubble, add the tofu dice.
- Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until most sides are nicely browned.
- Stir in sriracha to taste. 1 teaspoon makes this mildly spicy, and you can go from there to your preferred level of heat. Remove from heat and cover.
- For the salad, first strip the kale leaves off of the stems. Discard the stems, then cut the leaves into narrow ribbons. Put the kale into a mixing bowl.
- Coat your palms with a little oil and massage the kale until it turns bright green and softens. This will take less than a minute.
- Add the remaining salad ingredients to the bowl and stir together well. Arrange on a serving platter or in a shallow bowl.
- If the tofu has cooled down at all, heat it up. Either way, arrange over the salad and serve at once.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 229Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 438mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 4gSugar: 7gProtein: 10g
Nutrition data is always an estimate depending on program used to calculate and exact products used. This is given for informational purposes only and accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
If you like this hot and cool salad, you might also enjoy …
Hot and Cool Layered Black Bean Taco Salad
Explore more plant-forward salads & sides.
This was great! I’ve been trying out salad recipes and so many out there are just disappointing. This was simple and yum! I’ve never had tofu like this. You can eat just the tofu by itself. All together it was really good. I added avocado too. This salad will be a staple in my home now. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! 🙂
Thanks so much for your feedback — I’m glad you enjoyed it. I love salads that have warm elements; if you do, too, you may also like Hot and Cool Layered Taco Salad — it has avocado, as well! https://theveganatlas.com/hot-and-cool-layered-black-bean-taco-salad/