ホワイトサラダ
White Salad
The creamy dressing in this popular salad is made with mashed silken firm tofu. You will have to drain the tofu before using so your salad isn’t watery. This salad is served in most restaurants in Japan and makes a great accompaniment to most dishes.
SERVES 4–6 AS A SIDE
DRESSING
200 g (7 oz) silken firm tofu
50 g (1¾ oz/1/3 cup) sesame seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar
1 tablespoon white miso
1 tablespoon dashi II (here)
2 teaspoons Japanese soy sauce
3 teaspoons mirin
3 teaspoons sake
SALAD
100 g (3½ oz) konnyaku (yam cake)
1 small carrot
170 ml (5½ fl oz/2/3 cup) dashi II (here)
1 tablespoon mirin
3 teaspoons Japanese soy sauce
12 baby green beans, cut into 3 cm (1¼ in) lengths
6 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps sliced
To weight the tofu, wrap it in a clean tea towel. Put two plates on top of the tofu and leave for about 2 hours to extract any excess moisture.
Meanwhile, start preparing the salad. Boil the konnyaku for 2 minutes, then cut into 3 cm x 5 mm (1¼ x ¼ in) strips. Peel the carrot, then cut at 5 cm (2 in) intervals along the carrot so you have three or four chunks. Now slice each chunk lengthways into 5 mm (¼ in) wide strips. Lay each strip on its side and cut into 1 cm (½ in) wide strips along its length.
Combine the dashi, mirin and soy sauce in a saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer, then add the carrot, konnyaku and beans and cook for 3 minutes, or until the carrot is tender. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the shiitake to the pan, increase the heat to high and cook for 1–2 minutes, or until the liquid has almost evaporated. Cool completely.
Remove the tofu from the tea towel, then pat dry with paper towels. Finely mash the tofu with the back of a fork and set aside.
To make the dressing, grind the sesame seeds in a suribachi (ribbed mortar) or mortar and pestle until finely crushed, then gradually mix in the sugar, miso, dashi, soy sauce, mirin and sake until smooth. Stir the tofu into the mixture.
Put the cooled carrot and shiitake mixtures in a bowl with the dressing and toss to combine. Serve in a neat mound in one large serving bowl or in small individual dishes.
