Salad - Black Fungus and Five Spice Tofu with Vermicelli


Vegetarian, Vegan, Dairy-free

Meal Type
Lunch
Cuisine
Salad
Author
Community Cookbook
Serves
6
Preparation Time
15 minutes
Cooking Time
10 minutes

Ingredients

Soaking and cooking

  • 200g Mung Bean or Rice Vermicelli noodles
  • 90g dried, black wood ear fungus
  • 2-3 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 220g five-spice tofu, finely sliced into strips
  • 2 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
  • sea salt to taste

Chopping and or tearing

  • 500g wombok cabbage, finely sliced
  • 1/2 cup coriander leaves, torn
  • 1/2 cup thai or holy basil leaves, torn
  • 1/2 cup mint leaves, chiffonade

Optional

  • 1/2 cup chinese shallots or scallions (optional), finely sliced
  • 1/2 cup vietnamese mint leaves (optional), torn

Dressing

  • 2 tsp minced ginger
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 Tbsp black asian vinegar
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 1 Tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt

Instructions

Make the dressing

  1. Add all the dressing ingredients to a small bowl or jar and mix thoroughly.

Preparation

  1. Soak the vermicelli noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.
  2. Soak the fungus in hot water for about 15 minutes. Drain and shake in a colander to remove any excess moisture.
  3. pick through the fungus for an bits that remain hard or are larger than bite sized, remove hard bits and tear larger pieces in half.
  4. Heat vegetable oil in a pan or wok. Add the fungus and a teaspoon of salt. stir fry for 3 minutes (The fungus with crackle and pop, quite loudly - completely normal if alarming the first time.)
  5. Toast the sesame seeds if raw until lightly golden.
  6. Cut and slice the tofu and greens accordingly if you didn't do it before you started.

Assembly

  1. Combine the fungus, vermicelli, tofu, wombok and greens.
  2. Transfer to a large serving bowl.
  3. Pour over the dressing before serving and garnish with the sesame seeds.

Notes

  • Okay, I love this salad. But I do have some suggestions...
  • 1) the vietnamese mint in my very limited experience has been tasteless and therefore just another ingredient that is difficult to track down and can be done without...
  • 2) I have made this with and without scallions (no real idea what is and is not a chinese shallot...) and it did not suffer either way - good new for those who avoid consuming onions for any reason.
  • 3) This makes a lot of salad, like A LOT... (4-6 as a main) plan accordingly.
  • 4) Consider putting your tofu in the sandwich press or pan frying slightly in its slabs before cooling and cutting. This removes any potential for a slimy feeling and allows the salad to keep longer.
  • 5) Consider reducing the noodles by half... you can up the cabbage if you want, but it is noodle heavy (not a problem for me, but just consider your options.)
  • The wood ear mushrooms and the five spice tofu along with some of the condiments are going to be easiest to find in an asian grocery store. the wood ear and vermicelli are dry and keep forever. The tofu is sold in 220g increments in vac packs in the fridge... I buy a few at a time and store them in the freezer to thaw and use whenever i need them.
  • This makes a fabulous cold leftover fridge salad for warm weather dining.
  • To make GF friendly just check your noodles and soy sauce.