This recipe is adapted from An Appetite for Reduction. (I recommend this fast, easy, low fat vegan cookbook). The salad is topped with grilled tofu, but meat eaters could add chicken or shrimp.
Make the dressing first, marinate the tofu, and soak the rice vermicelli while you chop the vegetables.
Dressing:
1/3 cup warm water
3 tbsp sweetener or honey
3 tbsp chili-garlic sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
Tofu:
Cut a 12 oz block of extra firm tofu into 8 slices. Cut each slice diagonally and put tofu in the dressing. Marinate for 15 minutes or more, then grill on BBQ or brown in frying pan. (This can be done after the salad is assembled.) Reserve the dressing to add to the salad.
Salad:
Soak 8-12 oz of rice vermicelli in a large bowl of hot tap water. It will soften up in 10 minutes or less. In the meantime thinly slice:
1/2 cucumber
1 sweet pepper
1 mango
2 green onions
1 carrot
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
Add 2 or more cups fresh greens
(vegetables can be omitted/exchanged according to your preference
Drain vermicelli when softened and add vegetables to noodles. Mix together with your hands if necessary. I break the noodles in half before soaking them to make it easier to combine them with the other ingredients.
Assembly:
Place a serving of salad in a bowl, top with a couple of pieces of tofu. Add dressing to taste and top with chopped peanuts or spicy peanut sauce. (Use a nut of your choice)
If you don't put dressing on the salad, it keeps well in the fridge for a day or more.
