Shredded Tofu Jellyfish Salad (白豆腐絲海蜇沙律, Baak6 Dau6 Fu6 Si1 Hoi2 Zit3 Saa1 Leot6)

Happy New Year! For the first recipe of 2016, here’s a tasty salad I made for my family’s 2015 Christmas dinner. It’s actually quite simple to make, consisting mainly of opening packages and cutting the fresh ingredients. The two notable ingredients are instant jellyfish and shredded tofu.

I’ve used instant jellyfish previously, Cucumber and Jellyfish Salad (Ceng¹ Gwaa¹ Hoi² Zit³ Saa¹ Leot⁶, 青瓜海蜇沙律), while the recipes are similar, the main ingredient for this dish is shredded tofu. Instant jellyfish comes in a package ready to use (hence the “instant” name). If I translated the Chinese correctly, it’s “jellyfish noodles”. The traditional method to prepare jellyfish is to soak dried salted jellyfish to rehydrate it before cutting into strips (at least a two day effort with a couple of water changes to remove the salt). So you see why packaged instant jellyfish is preferable. The jellyfish and cucumber give this dish a nice crunchy texture.

Shredded tofu is also packaged and looks like noodles. I’ve also used shredded tofu in another (cooked) recipe, Baby Bok Choy Sprouts with Shredded Tofu (白菜苗豆腐絲, Baak⁶ Coi³ Miu⁴ Dau⁶ Fu⁶ Si¹). The tofu needs to be parboiled before using (follow the instructions on the package), but other than that, there’s no other cooking needed before assembling the salad. The rest of the fresh salad ingredients are either cut or come already cut into small strips. Shredded tofu also comes marinated (five-spice), but the “noodles” are larger and could be substituted for the non-marinated version to give the salad another added taste.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

16 oz.	454 g.	Two 8 oz. (227 g.) packages Kimbo brand Shredded White Tofu (白豆腐絲, baak6 dau6 fu6 si1) or equivalent
5.29 oz.	150 g.	One package Asian Taste brand Instant Jellyfish (海蜇麵, hoi2 zit3 min6) or equivalent
6 oz.	170 g.	One package cloud ear fungus (雲耳, wan4 ji5), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
3.5 oz.	100 g.	One package Daxing brand Pickled Radish (Shredded) (榨菜大王, zaa3 zoi3 daai6 wong4) or equivalent
1	1	English cucumber (青瓜, ceng1 gwaa1), seeded and cut into thin 1-inch (2.5 cm.) strips
½ cup	125 ml.	Carrot (紅蘿蔔, hung4 lo4 baak6), cut into thin 1-inch (2.5 cm.) strips
½ cup.	125 ml.	Fresh basil leaves (紫蘇, zi2 sou1)
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
½ bunch	½ bunch	Cilantro (芫茜, cung1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
1+1 tsp.	5+5 ml.	White sesame seeds (芝麻, zi1 maa4), toasted; divided use
1+1 tsp.	5+5 ml.	Black sesame seeds (胡麻, zi1 maa4), toasted; divided use

 

Dressing Ingredients

5 tsp.	25 ml.	Seasoned rice vinegar (米醋, mai5 cou3)
2 tsp.	10 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)

 

Equipment

3 qt.	2.9 L.	Covered container or larger
		Vegetable peeler
		Small pan to toast the sesame seeds
		Small pot to parboil the shredded tofu
		Colander

 

Kimbo Brand Shredded White Tofu
(白豆腐絲, baak6 dau6 fu6 si1)

Instructions (One Day Before Serving)

1. Toast the white and black sesame seeds in a dry pan until the white sesame seeds just turn brown. Divide the sesame seeds in half and place into two separate small bowls. The first small bowl will be added to the assembled salad (later) and the second will be used to top the salad before serving the next day. The second bowl should be covered with plastic wrap once the sesame seeds cool.
2. Open the packages of Kimbo brand Shredded White Tofu, or equivalent, and follow the instructions to parboil the tofu. Drain the shredded tofu in a colander and then place into a covered container.
3. Open the package of Asian Taste brand Instant Jellyfish, or equivalent, and put the jellyfish into the container with the tofu.
4. Open the package and wash the cloud ear fungus.  Cut the cloud ear fungus into 1-inch 

   

   Asian Taste Brand Instant Jellyfish
   (海蜇麵, hoi2 zit3 min6)

   (2.5 cm.) pieces, discarding any hard stems, and put the fungus into the container with the tofu.
5. Open the package of Daxing brand Pickled Radish (Shredded), or equivalent, and place the radish into the covered container with the tofu.
6. Wash the English cucumber and cut the cucumber in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds from each cucumber half using a spoon. Cut the cucumber into thin 1-inch (2.5 cm.) long strips. Add the cucumber strips to the bowl with the tofu.
7. Wash the carrot and use a vegetable peeler to produce thin 1-inch (2.5 cm.) long strips. Only part of the carrot will be used in the salad. Add the carrot strips to the bowl with the tofu.
8. Wash and remove the leaves from the fresh basil stalks. Add the basil leaves to the bowl with the tofu.
9. Wash and cut the green onions into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces. Add the green onions to the bowl with the tofu.
10. Wash and cut the cilantro into ½-inch (15

    

    Daxing Brand Pickled Radish (Shredded)
    (榨菜大王, zaa3 zoi3 daai6 wong4)

    mm.) pieces. Add the cilantro to the bowl with the tofu.
11. Add one bowl of the toasted sesame seeds to the bowl with the tofu and mix all the ingredients together. Cover the container and place into the refrigerator.

Instructions (Serving Day)

1. Take the covered container with the salad out of the refrigerator at least four to eight hours before serving. Make the dressing by mixing the seasoned rice vinegar and sesame oil into a small bowl. Add the dressing to the salad, mix the dressing and salad together, cover the container, and then place back into the refrigerator. If regular rice vinegar is used (instead of seasoned), add ½ tsp. (2.5 ml.) each of salt and sugar to the rice vinegar when making the dressing. The vinegar bottle may not be labeled as “seasoned” and still be seasoned, so be sure to read the ingredients on the label before adding any additional salt and sugar.
2. Take the salad out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving, remix the dressing and salad together, and place into serving plates. Top the salad with the remaining toasted sesame seeds.