Cabbage Conundrum Part 1

Cooking for yourself can be nice sometimes. You can make exactly what you want however you want it. Other times, like when presented with a giant head of savoy cabbage, it's a challenge. It's also more economical to buy things in bulk, but when you're one person you get sick of eating the same thing for a week. I mulled over the cabbage from my CSA, searching every online database for something other than coleslaw or cabbage and potatoes. Well there isn't much out there but Heidi over at 101 Cookbooks had a beautiful asian cabbage salad. I have to admit I am a regular reader of her fabulous blog but I've never actually tried my hand at any of her recipes. Her pictures are always so perfect and I think I'm a little bit intimidated.

I decided to give it a shot in attempt to ease my fear of recipes and to start using flavors that I love eating but haven't cooked much with. I also wanted to experiment with my longtime vegetarian nemesis: tofu.

Ingredients

1 package extra firm tofu

1/2 head savoy or napa cabbage

Carrots

Radish

Scallions

Fresh ginger

Garlic

Peanut butter

Tamari (or good quality soy sauce)

Sesame Oil

Rice Wine Vinegar

1 lime

Sesame seeds (black or white)

Start by preparing the tofu (draining it thoroughly by squeezing it and blotting with paper towels) and cubing into bite size chunks. Marinate the chunks in a mixture of tamari, fresh grated ginger, sesame oil, and lime juice. It should sit for about an hour.

Meanwhile, shred and wash the cabbage, radishes and carrots. Make the dressing by combining peanut butter, tamari, grated garlic and ginger, and splashes of sesame oil and rice wine vinegar. Also, lightly toast some sesame seeds in a dry saute pan.

Assemble the salad by draining the tofu and tossing it with the cabbage and carrots to make sure it's all coated in the dressing. I wanted it to be nice and crunchy so I actually found that I had to drain some of the liquid off, probably because I washed the cabbage and didn't thoroughly dry it, or the tofu wasn't drained well enough. Top with sesame seeds and sliced scallions. This is great the next day, but probably not much longer after that which is a shame because it makes a ton. I would recommend finding someone to share with.