Why I love this salad: Napa cabbage is softer than traditional cabbage and crispier than lettuce making it perfect for salads, plus the leaves have ridges to hold lots of yummy dressing. Nutritionally speaking...both napa cabbage and bok choy are cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens so they rank at the top of the world's healthiest choices.
A quick refresher: Cruciferous vegetables contain flavonoids, sulforaphane, glucosinolates and other compounds which have powerful anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Read more about why cruciferous vegetables are so important- here. And find more yummy ways to eat more cruciferous vegetables.
Helpful Hints:
- The Sweet and Spicy Stir-fry Sauce acts both as a flavoring for the tofu and a dressing for the salad. Feel free to add more, if desired, however, keep in mind that this sauce is pretty strong so a little goes a long way.
- This salad is an excellent choice to batch prep. Make more than you need and it will store well to be eaten throughout the week. Keep the rice and the tofu separate from the salad greens and vegetables otherwise they will make the greens soggy. The tofu and rice can be re-heated as leftovers or eaten cold.
- A key to making this salad good is to cut all the vegetables in very thin slices. The bell pepper and onion slices should be no more than an ⅛ inch thick and the napa cabbage and bok choy are best about ¼ inch wide.
- Bok choy and napa cabbage are incredibly versatile. They can be eaten raw or cooked. Another way to eat this salad as a leftover is to quickly stir-fry it over high heat with the tofu and serve it over rice.
- Try changing this salad up by substituting parsley, basil or mint for the cilantro or use a combination of herbs. Herbs are leafy greens, too, and packed with antioxidants!
Add 2 cups of rice and 2 cups of water to a medium sauce pan with a teaspoon of salt. Cover pot. Bring to a boil over high-heat then turn down to low and simmer -15 minutes for white rice or 30 minutes for brown rice.
Remove the rice from the heat and let it sit covered for 5 minutes. Alternately, make rice in an instant pot or rice cooker according to manufacture's instructions.
Thinly shred napa cabbage and bok choy. Remove cilantro leaves from stem. Wash and spin dry the greens.
Slice bell pepper and green onion or red onion in very thin slices.
Toast almonds over medium-high heat until golden. Carefully stir almonds as they cook to prevent burning. Set aside to cool.
Over medium-high heat, sauté previously frozen, but now thawed tofu in oil until crispy, stirring occasionally. Stir fry until a crust forms on the edges. You can use tofu that has not been frozen- just drain, dice and stir fry. Freezing tofu gives it a nice chewy texture.
Once the tofu is crispy, add the Sweet and Spicy Stir-fry Sauce and stir fry for 1 minute while stirring.
Serve salad on individual plates. Top vegetables with the saucy tofu then sprinkle with almonds. The sauce not only flavors the tofu, but acts as a dressing as well so be sure to include the sauce when serving the tofu. Serve with a side of rice. I like to toss the rice in with my salad
Ingredients
Directions
Add 2 cups of rice and 2 cups of water to a medium sauce pan with a teaspoon of salt. Cover pot. Bring to a boil over high-heat then turn down to low and simmer -15 minutes for white rice or 30 minutes for brown rice.
Remove the rice from the heat and let it sit covered for 5 minutes. Alternately, make rice in an instant pot or rice cooker according to manufacture's instructions.
Thinly shred napa cabbage and bok choy. Remove cilantro leaves from stem. Wash and spin dry the greens.
Slice bell pepper and green onion or red onion in very thin slices.
Toast almonds over medium-high heat until golden. Carefully stir almonds as they cook to prevent burning. Set aside to cool.
Over medium-high heat, sauté previously frozen, but now thawed tofu in oil until crispy, stirring occasionally. Stir fry until a crust forms on the edges. You can use tofu that has not been frozen- just drain, dice and stir fry. Freezing tofu gives it a nice chewy texture.
Once the tofu is crispy, add the Sweet and Spicy Stir-fry Sauce and stir fry for 1 minute while stirring.
Serve salad on individual plates. Top vegetables with the saucy tofu then sprinkle with almonds. The sauce not only flavors the tofu, but acts as a dressing as well so be sure to include the sauce when serving the tofu. Serve with a side of rice. I like to toss the rice in with my salad