Burmese Shan Tofu Salad Recipe

In the warmer months, I just love a refreshing salad to help cool me down. Plus I love all the vibrant colours that are in a salad. It makes me feel like I’m eating a rainbow!

To kick it up a notch, today I’ll share a salad recipe that’s more exotic and unique – a Burmese Shan Tofu Salad! Despite it’s name, it’s actually soy-free, and oh so yummy. Savoury and slightly sweet at the same. So let’s get started!

Tofu

Ingredients

• 1 cup chickpea (or chana) flour
• 3 cups water
• 1 tsp turmeric (great for treating inflammation – you can add less though if you don’t like the smell)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp coconut sugar

Directions

1. Place the chickpea flour, turmeric, salt, and sugar in a bowl.
2. Add one cup of water.
3. Whisk to blend well and get rid of all lumps.
4. Lightly oil ceramic or glass pan.
5. Bring to boil the two remaining cups of water, then lower the heat to medium-high.
6. Use a wooden spoon to stir continuously as you slowly add the chickpea mixture to the boiling water.
7. Lower the heat to medium, and continue stirring to ensure mixture does not stick to bottom of pot. The mixture will thicken and the right consistency will be when you can see the bottom of the pot as you stir the wooden spoon around in the pot (~after about 5 minutes of stirring). Make sure you do cook it 5 minutes. Otherwise, the tofu will not harden properly. Immediately pour into the prepared pan.
8. Let it cool and then place in fridge to firm up. For best results, chill in the fridge overnight.

Salad Veggies and Dressing

Ingredient

• 8 fresh or dried kaffir lime leaves and/or coriander
• 6-8 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/4 cup avocado oil
• 1 cup tamarind sauce (traditional) or rice vinegar. If you can’t find tamarind sauce, you can usually find packets of seeded or seedless tamarind in Asian grocery stores. Cut a piece approximately 1″ x 2″ in size and soak it in 1 cup of hot water for 5 minutes, then press it down with a fork to release the juice. Throw away the veins/seeds and keep the juice.
• 2 tablespoon fish sauce or 1/2 teaspoon salt for vegetarian version
• 1 head of shredded cabbage (traditional) or other veggies such as carrots. This is my favourite part of making a salad. You can mix it up each time with slightly different vegetables, giving you a slightly different blend of flavours and aromas.
• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, or other types of nuts (optional) 
• Chili flakes to taste (optional)

Directions:

1. Soak kaffir lime leaves in some water if they’re dried and set them aside for 5-10 minutes until they have slightly softened.
2. Fry chopped garlic in avocado oil over medium heat. As they turn color (light golden), turn off heat and let garlic continue to cook in oil. They should become crispy and darker brown but make sure they do not become burnt. I like lots of crispy garlic in the salad, so feel free to adjust the quantities of garlic and oil as you wish.
3. Strip out tough central veins of each kaffir lime leaf, then stack them together and cut them into thin ribbons and set them aside.
4. Slice chilled tofu into thin strips of approximately 2 cm in length, and put into a large mixing bowl.
5. Add all remaining ingredients into mixing bowl and mix well.
6. Enjoy!