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Peanut crunch cabbage and tofu salad

If you're like me, you might often find yourself with 1/2 a cabbage to use up. Here's a salad I made with a wedge of Napa cabbage (called Wombok in Australia and Chinese cabbage in UK), a few cucumbers and a block of baked tofu (the type that is ready to slice, to go straight into a salad or stir-fry), dressed in a standout spicy, nutty, creamy peanut sauce.

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A grey bowl filled with a mixed salad containing sliced vegetables, fresh cilantro leaves, nuts, and a creamy dressing, placed on a marble surface.

Peanut sauce is a comforting, homey dressing, a reliably contented flavor. While smooth peanut butter delivers a better texture for dressing, there is plenty of crunch, from the crisp cucumbers and the crunchy toasted peanuts.

If toasting peanuts from scratch, toast them in a 180˚C / 300˚F oven for 7-8 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool before chopping them up.

Why do we use boiling water? The heat will ‘melt’ the peanut butter and make it easier to whisk and emulsify. All brands of peanut butter will vary in viscosity, so add water accordingly. You are looking for a thick but pourable consistency.

Peanut crunch cabbage and tofu salad

Serves

Ingredients

450 g Napa cabbage (wombok), thinly sliced
3 Persian/Lebanese cucumbers, trimmed and sliced
400 g baked tofu, sliced
1/2 cup 70g toasted peanuts, roughly chopped
big handful coriander / cilantro
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Spicy peanut dressing

80 g smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon chile oil/crisp
1 garlic clove, grated
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
5 to 6 tablespoons boiling water

Instructions

To make the dressing, in a large bowl, add the peanut butter, chili crisp, garlic, ginger and the boiling water and whisk to combine. If it’s too thick, add more boiling water, one tablespoon at a time ,until it’s smooth and pourable.
To the dressing, add the cabbage, cucumbers, tofu, half the peanuts and half the coriander/cilantro and toss well. Drizzle with a little olive oil, season well with salt and pepper and toss again.
To serve, top with remaining peanuts and coriander/cilantro.