Tofu Goi Chay with Momofuku Fish Sauce Vinaigrette
Summer is here, but Portland is still in that awkward, warm, grey, humid state that it likes so much to get stuck in.
This weather is, frankly, gross. It’s the kind of weather that makes me want salads.
Salads made with baby greens are fine as a token vegetable side with dinner, but for a main meal I prefer salads made with heartier vegetables. Cabbage, kale, root vegetables, and greens beans all make fantastic salads. Especially when they’re slightly pickled in their own dressing so that they become perfectly crisp and tender.
I really love Vietnamese-style herb salads, so I looked around the internet and found a couple of recipes that could help me make it at home. It turned out that it’s not terribly difficult. While this recipe requires making your own dressing, it’s very much worth it. You’ll have more Momofuku fish sauce dressing that you need, and that’s a very good thing. It’s as equally good on stir fries, cold noodles, and grilled vegetables or meat as it is on raw cabbage. The salad itself makes excellent cold leftovers because the cabbage is resistant to wilting.
Goi chay has the best flavor-to-effort ratio of anything I’ve made recently. The ingredients are simple, but the salty, sweet, crispy, herbal punch of it is really something.
Mmm, fishy.
Momofuku Fish Sauce Vinaigrette
from Momofuko, via Serious Eats
makes about 1 cup
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
juice of 1 limes
1/4 cup sugar
1 finely grated garlic clove
1 to 3 bird’s eye chilies, thinly sliced with seeds intact
Combine all ingredients in a jar and mix well. The vinaigrette will keep for a week in the refrigerator.
Bird’s eye chiles are very, very hot. Depending on your spice tolerance you may want to use less than the recipe calls for, or substitute milder jalapeno chiles. If you like lime, I also recommend doubling the amount of lime juice.
Mint and basil everywhere.
Tofu Goi Chay
generously adapted from The Kitchn
serves 4
1 head red or green cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
1 bunch basil and 1 bunch mint, leaves loosely torn or chopped
1 lb extra firm tofu
1/2 cup peanuts, crushed
vegetable oil
1) Cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces and press between clean kitchen towels or paper towels to remove excess water. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet and fry tofu until golden brown. Put the fried tofu on a toweled plate to cool and drain excess oil.
2) Toss the vegetables, herbs, and tofu together in a large bowl, along with a generous amount of the fish sauce dressing. You’ll probably need about 1/2 a cup dressing, depending on the size of your cabbage.
3) Let the salad sit at least 15 minutes, or refrigerate for up to a day before serving.
4) Serve over vermicelli rice noodles or with a side of sticky rice. Top with crushed peanuts.
The original version of this recipe uses a vegetarian, soy-based dressing instead of the fish sauce one. If you’re avoiding fish sauce for whatever reason, try that instead.
