Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Healthy Asian Inspired Potato Salad (with Tofu Croutons!)


This month was my first month participating in the "Daring cooks" challenge.  This month we were challenged to create a healthy potato salad from around the world.  I loved this challenge because although it wasn't "difficult", it forced me to be creative.  

Jami Sorrento was our June Daring Cooks hostess and she chose to challenge us to celebrate the humble spud by making a delicious and healthy potato salad. The Daring Cooks Potato Salad Challenge was sponsored by the nice people at the United States Potato Board, who awarded prizes to the top 3 most creative and healthy potato salads. A medium-size (5.3 ounce) potato has 110 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium and includes nearly half your daily value of vitamin C and has more potassium than a banana! 

For this challenge I decided that I needed to get rid of the traditional "creamy" dressing that I associate with most potato salads.  I also wanted to include the skins for extra goodness and include something that would add some protein. 

Maybe because it has "salad" in the title, or maybe because I've been really wanting to enjoy tofu, I decided to make crispy tofu croutons to add protein to my potato salad.   I marinated the tofu in an asian inspired sauce and then used that sauce to top the salad (instead of using a mayo based sauce).  I used a low sodium tamari to try to cut down on the sodium.  
I loved the varying textures and flavors in this salad.  The bell pepper was really fresh, the tofu was crispy and savory and the potatoes were creamy.  The marinade dressing also added a really zingy fresh touch.  Overall, I really enjoyed the "salad" as a whole. :-) 





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Asian Inspired Potato Salad with Tofu Croutons
A healthy, vegan potato salad with Asian flavors and crispy tofu croutons.
Ingredients
  • 1/2 pound Extra firm tofu, pressed
  • 2Tbs Tamari (or soy) sauce
  • 2Tbs Rice wine vinegar
  • 1tsp Hot sauce
  • 1Tbs Sesame oil
  • 2 cloves Garlic, mashed
  • 1/4tsp Ginger powder
  • 1lb Small red potatoes, cubed
  • 1 Bell pepper, diced
  • 1tsp Toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
1. Cut tofu into small (1cm) cubes. Whisk together the tamari, oil, vinegar, garlic, hot sauce and ginger and cover the tofu cubes. Marinate cubes for one hour, stirring once. 2. Preheat the oven to 400F. Remove tofu cubes from the marinade (reserve the marinade!) and pat dry. Bake on a cookie sheet for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown and crispy. Cool the croutons. 3. Boil the cubed potatoes for 10 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork. Drain and cool. 4. Mix cooked potatoes, diced bell peppers and 1/2 of the reserved marinade. Top with tofu croutons and toasted sesame seeds.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 4 side servings



12 comments:

Andy said...

Good job on your first DK challenge! Your croutons look great!

Lisa said...

This sounds so good. I love food with Asian flavors.

Anonymous said...

Oooo yum! This sounds delicious! I love twists on traditional dishes, and it's so much healthier too. Thanks so much for sharing! I am now following =]

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

This intrigues me. This is the first time that tofu was presented in a way, I really think, I would like it.

Chef in Training said...

this looks and sounds great! I found your blog through a link party! I am your newest follower and would love it if you would check out my blog and follow me too! Thanks!
-Nikki
http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/

Karla said...

Thanks for stopping by everyone. :-) I love to check out new blogs, ESPECIALLY ones that feature such creative chefs, so you can bet I'll be back often.

Miriam of Sometimes I Veg said...

That is certainly not a combination I ever would have dreamed up. I'm not big on potatoes but maybe I can try it with sweet potato someday.

Anonymous said...

Didn't know potatoes were such a good source of potassium! Your salad looks delicious, and I love the idea of tofu croutons.

Peggy said...

Great job with this Daring Kitchen's challenge!

Katie @ This Chick Cooks said...

That daring cooks challenge sounds like lots of fun! Your potato salad looks delicious. Thanks for coming by to share! Have a great weekend.
Katie

Jodie said...

Hi Karla! Just tried this tonight. I used a spicy stir fry sauce instead of the Tamari but it still turned out great! I love the little tofu crunchies :-) Thanks so much!

Anonymous said...

I was just thinking if one could use tofu in a potato salad and then luckily found this as my theory was to deep-fry the tofu. Oven sounds better indeed.

Thanks from Finland!

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