Ola my friend! I have another fun and fresh salad idea for you! The wow factor in this salad is the crispy crunchy fried tofu adding final touches to a lime red kale salad. In my past eating lifestyle, I loved to eat chicken salad. It could be grilled chicken or fried. So I wanted to see if I could create the vegan version of the chicken salads I used to enjoy using fried tofu.
Imagine crisp and fresh vegetables layered on top of lime drenched red kale with all of your favorite salad toppings like beans, fruit, seeds etc. Finally imagine sinking your teeth into a forkful of this salad that also have crunchy fried tofu … and yes it takes like chicken. The fried tofu was a beautiful addition to the salad and had me desiring more. An 100% for this task.
I believe you would agree with me once you try it. You have to try this and share your experience. Please let me know in the comments how this turned out for you.
Lime & Red Kale Salad Ingredients
- Red Kale
- Lime
- Garlic Powder
- Yellow Onion
- Black Beans
- Cucumbers
- Roma Tomatoes
- Green Bell Peppers (Capsicum)
- Bartlett Pears (can substitute with Granny Smith Apples)
- Black Olives
Fried Tofu Ingredients
- Medium Firm Tofu (House Foods brand)
- 100% Natural Olive Oil
Crispy Tofu Soak / Marinade
- Coconut milk
- Paprika
- Chili powder
- Franks Hot sauce
Crispy Tofu Batter
- All Purpose 100% Wheat Flour
- Baking powder
- Chili powder
- Paprika
- Himalayan Black Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
For the Lime & Red Kale Salad
- Prepare all vegetables and fruit by washing thoroughly, rinsing and chopping into bite sized square chunks. I like to massage the kale under running water and remove all stems. I also like to peel off the skin of cucumbers.
- Add red kale to bowl and squeeze fresh lime over the red kale.
- Layer cucumbers, Roma tomatoes, black olives, black beans, and yellow onions, green bell pepper (Capsicum), and pears.
- Sprinkle garlic powder on top of the salad to give a light coat. (I wonder how minced garlic would do instead…I will have to try this)
- Top with crispy fried tofu once tofu is ready.
For the Crispy Fried Tofu
- Take 1 package of medium firm tofu and cut into semi-thick slices across the width of the tofu block. You should end up with around six slices.
- Squeeze water out of tofu by pressing down on the tofu. Feel free to use a solid spatula and plate or like me use your two hands 😅.
- Take 3 slices of tofu and cut them into squares of 4. So 3 slices of tofu should yield 12 squares.
- Take an empty bowl and add the coconut milk, Frank’s hot sauce, chili powder and paprika. Mix thoroughly. The proportions should be to your desired taste but ensure the coconut milk is enough for number of tofu pieces you want to marinade.
- Add the tofu to the bowl of marinade to soak in the coconut mixture
- In a separate bowl add the flour, baking powder, chili powder, paprika, Himalayan black salt, and ground black pepper. Stir together mixing all of the ingredients well.
- Take the soaked / marinated tofu and coat with the flour mixture. Feel free to do a double coat for extra crunchiness.
- Pour olive oil into a wok or stir fry pan covering the entire bottom of the pan. This works out to be enough oil for frying the tofu without resulting in them being greasy.
- On medium to high heat (so if your stove range has 0-9 then pick 6 or 7), cook the tofu for around 3-5 minutes on each side until golden brown.
Note: Freeze the tofu and thaw tofu overnight 2x for best results. Using firm Tofu should work great also.
Lime & Red Kale Salad Gallery
Health Benefits
To highlight a few benefits:
- Tofu: first to define tofu – tofu is made my coagulating soy milk (liquid produced by soaking, grinding, boiling, and filtering soy beans) which create curds and then pressing the curds into blocks. Tofu is naturally gluten-free, low in calories, and an amazing source of protein, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium among others . Check out more details here. You may be interested to know that tofu may benefit Type 2 diabetes and help relieve menopause and headaches.
- Green Bell Pepper (Capsicum): incredibly rich in carbs, water, fiber, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin B6 among other vitamins and antioxidants. You may not be surprised that half of the benefits are in the red skin of the potatoes. These warriors can be eaten raw or cooked. Either way you are winning!
- Black Olives: are packed with many fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants including iron, vitamin A, vitamin E. Check out more details here. These are my best friends when it comes to a salad. I really do not like to eat my salad without them. They benefit your eye health, hair and skin, and digestive tract just to name a few.
Meal Inspiration
I confess that I was craving something fried. Not necessarily fried chicken. I just wanted to hear the crunch when I chew and taste the delicious crispy seasoning. It was a longing out of no where it seems. I decided to make a salad because I of course had the ingredients but this time top it with fried tofu as a substitute for crispy chicken strips. I must tell you that I could not stop smiling and periodically closing my eyes eating this salad!
Until Next Time
Well friends, you will not be disappointed if you try these fusion of lime red kale salad topped with crunchy seasoned tofu. It is bursting with strong but complimentary flavors that will leave you smiling like it did me. If you want to try a more advanced dinner idea then try this tantalizing delicious lemon pepper baked salmon, steamed garlic butter redskin potatoes, seasoned roasted asparagus dinner.
Well, I will take my leave for now. I look forward to our time together again soon. Be inspired to have an appetite to Live and Live well.
Adaeze
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