Tofu Salad with iceberg lettuce, sweet corn and daikon sprouts that’s dressed with a hot mustard soy honey dressing. This tangy dressing with a zing flavors the tofu in the most yummy way.
First things first. Happy Spring!!
Now, you may say.. “Whaaat??? Tofu salad? Yummy??”
“Can this be really good?? Tofu is kind of boring as it is and salads can also be boring…so… how can the combination of 2 boring things turn out delicious?” Well..you have to trust me when I say this IS just simply a wonderful salad. It is delicious on its own but it goes amazingly well with Korean food – especially a meal loaded with heavily seasoned dishes like jjigae. So where did the idea for this salad come from?
About 15 or so years ago, I was inspired to make this recipe after we fell in love with a tofu salad that our family always enjoyed having at our local Tofu House restaurant. This tofu salad recipe is special to me because it is one of the first recipe I created on my own. Way back when, before I ever imagined of becoming a Korean food blogger, I signed up to create a cookbook for our Korean church as a fundraiser for missions. Because there were so many good Korean mom cooks in the church but then there were also many young Korean Americans who wanted to learn how to cook, we realized a cookbook was a perfect way for the older moms to share their knowledge with the young singles or married couples. And so I sought out several good cooks and then asked them for recipes.
Some ladies readily wrote their recipes and gave them to me. With some ladies, I basically had to chase them down and press them to verbally tell me the recipe as I tried to write them down. Many recipes came without exact amounts and times. I guess this was when I started to realize how important it is to have an accurate recipe. What seems obvious to an experienced cook is not at all obvious to a novice cook. In addition to filling in the gaps in the recipes, I also decided I would write the cookbook in both Korean and English because many young Korean Americans were not at all comfortable in reading Korean. Writing in 2 languages took more effort but I think it was worth it. Anyway, I had great fun doing it. And I heard that some members still use the cookbooks even to this day, so that makes me very happy.
What Tofu works best for Tofu Salad?
As I shared before in my Tofu with Broccoli post, there are 3 kinds of tofu – silken soft (sundubu 순두부), soft (for stews) and firm or extra firm (for frying). Read that post for more info but it can be very much a personal preference but I find that for this particular tofu salad, firm or extra firm works best.
What can I substitute for Oriental Hot Mustard?
I know Oriental Hot Mustard is not always readily available but I did found it at walmart.com so you should be able to get it there. But if you don’t want to do that, you can try substituting wasabi. I tried substituting regular American yellow mustard and that just doesn’t work very well so I would not recommend it.
Tofu Salad with Iceberg Lettuce and Sweet Corn Recipe – GLUTEN FREE
** Note, you need to use gluten free soy sauce for gluten free recipe
Servings: 2 Prep Time: 15 min. Difficulty: EASY
Step-by-Step Directions
- Make oriental hot mustard according to directions. Make enough to make about 1 tsp. If you want a little more kick, add 2 tsp. If you use S&B mustard, you can mix 1 tsp mustard powder and 1 1/2 tsp water and let it sit for few minutes for the flavor to fully develop.
Oriental Hot Mustard - Rinse iceberg lettuce leaves and tear them into smaller pieces. Use a salad spinner or just pat dry with paper towel.
- Take tofu out of package. Pat dry with a paper towel and cut into squares like below. I like using Pulmuone Organic 2 cup Tofu but you can use any firm or extra firm tofu you like.
Firm Tofu squares for Tofu Salad - Rinse and drain radish sprouts or any other micro greens you want to add. I found this at our local grocery store and it was a great mix of different radish sprouts and other micro greens. So you can use something like this.
Micro Rainbox Mix greens for Tofu Salad But if you can buy daikon radish sprouts, they work the best. Here are the ingredients for the tofu salad except for the lettuce.
Tofu Salad ingredients – tofu, corn, imitation crab meat, daikon sprouts and iceberg lettuce (not in picture) - By now (after 5 minutes or more) the hot mustard should have developed its full flavor. Mix in the hot mustard into the dressing. Stir until well blended.
- Arrange lettuce and tofu on a plate or salad bowl. Tear crab meat into thin strips and add to salad. Sprinkle sweet corn and top with daikon sprouts or other micro greens. Pour dressing before serving.
- Tofu Salad with Iceberg Lettuce, Micro Greens with Soy Mustard Dressing
NOTE
- For GLUTEN FREE, use Tamari soy sauce. For VEGAN salad – omit the crab meat.
- This salad is great when served chilled.
- Unlike many salads, this salad tastes even better when tofu and lettuce have absorbed the dressing a bit so dress this salad a bit in advance (just 2-3 minutes).
My Tofu Salad is part of Asian Salad Feast Round-Up
It is the first day of SPRING tomorrow. And although I have to say it really doesn’t feel like spring since because it has been so cold here in California lately.. I I know, compared to the east coast, it’s nothing, but we are just such weaklings here when it comes to cold weather. 😝) Anyway, I wanted to do something to welcome spring on my blog and I and 13 other bloggers decided to bring you an Asian Salad Feast of 14 total wonderful Asian Salads that you can enjoy for Spring!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH dear lovely bloggers for joining me in this #AsianSaladFeast party!
- Thai Larb Salad by Wok & Skillet is a light and flavorful combination of savory ground meat paired with fresh herbs.
- Paleo Asian Coleslaw by What Great Grandma Ate is a salad with various colorful vegetables, crunchy toasted cashews, and dressing made with an asian flavor twist.
- Salad with Spiced Grated Coconut Topping (Urap Sayur) by What to Cook Today is an Indonesian salad made with steamed/boiled vegetables dressed with spiced grated coconut topping.
- Authentic Thai Fish Salad by Healthy World Cuisine is made with grilled turmeric whitefish, fresh cilantro, mint leaves, vegetables, chilis, lemongrass, ginger and other spices.
- Thai Seafood Salad (Yum Talay) by A Taste of Joy and Love is a refreshing seafood salad with exotic flavors: spicy, tangy, sweet.
- Crunchy Thai Eggplant Salad by Grits & Chopsticks is a delicious blend of zesty, spicy, sour, and sweet, making it interesting and fun to eat, bite after bite.
- Springtime Sushi Bowl by The Sasha Diaries is vibrant and fresh and celebrates the gorgeous spring produce – all without the hassle of sushi rolling!
- Burmese Ginger Salad (Gin Thoke) by Love is in My Tummy has tons of deep-fried condiments so it is bursting with flavor and texture.
- Japanese Potato Salad by V for Veggy is a creamy and eggy salad with potatoes, onions and apples.
- Broccoli Sesame Dressing by Daily Cooking Quest makes the most humble greens shine through.
- Gado Gado Salad by Brunch-n-Bites – Gado gado, literally translates to mean “mixed” in Indonesian, is a very popular dish in Indonesia.
- Vietnamese Chicken and Rice Vermicelli Salad by Nut Free Wok
- Shabu Shabu Cold Noodle Salad by Chopstick Chronicles
Tofu Salad with Iceberg Lettuce and Sweet Corn
Ingredients
- 1/2 head iceberg lettuce (small)
- 8 oz tofu (extra firm or firm)
- 3 Tbsp sweet corn (canned)
- 1/4 cup daikon sprouts
- 2 oz imitation crab meat (optional)
Sweet Soy Mustard Dressing
- 1 tsp oriental yellow mustard (optional)
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsp cooking sake (rice wine)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce (jinkanjang)
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice (1 tsp if using meyer lemon)
Instructions
- Make oriental hot mustard according to directions. If you want a little more kick, double the amount. Mix mustard powder with water and let it sit for few minutes for the flavor to develop.
- Rinse iceberg lettuce leaves and tear them into smaller pieces. Use a salad spinner or just pat dry with paper towel.
- Take tofu out of the package. Pat dry with a paper towel and cut into squares like below. I like using Pulmuone Organic 2 cup Tofu but you can use any firm or extra firm tofu you like.
- Rinse and drain radish sprouts or any other micro greens you want to add. I found this at our local grocery store and it was a great mix of different radish sprouts and other micro greens. But if you can buy daikon radish sprouts, they work the best.
- By now the hot mustard should have developed its full flavor. Mix in the hot mustard into the dressing. Stir until well blended.
- Arrange lettuce and tofu on a plate or salad bowl. Tear crab meat into thin strips and add to salad. Sprinkle sweet corn and top with daikon sprouts or other micro greens. Pour dressing before serving.
Tips & Notes:
- This salad taste best when everything is chilled.
- Unlike many other salads, this salad tastes even better when tofu and lettuce have absorbed the dressing a bit so dress the salad a bit in advance before serving.
Nutrition Information:
I wish you all a healthy and happy Asian Salad Feast this SPRING!
XOXO ❤,
JinJoo
I’ve made this several times for my husband and I and it never disappoints. Delicious! Thank you! 🙂
I’m so happy to hear that Hannah! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I appreciate hearing back so much. Enjoy!
Oh one more thing – if you can give me a 5 star rating on the recipe card, that would be even more awesome! Thank you!
Thank you Jin Joo for hosting this #AsianSaladFeast and for inviting me to join in to share the delicious recipes everyone has created. I love your recipe, it’s so beautiful and we know we eat with our eyes first. Cheers!
You are very welcome Sharon! So glad you could join us for the wonderful #AsianSaladFeast. Thank you!
I love the addition of sweet corn here – it’s one of my favorite ingredients in any salad! All the ingredients here sounds amazing. Thanks so much for putting this party!
Yay! So glad you like sweet corn, it’s not a fashionable ingredient (haha) but it totally works here. Thank you for joining us for our Asian Salad party, Char!
Great looking Salad Jinjoo! Thank you for inviting me to participate to the Asian salad feast. I love tofu salad but never tried mustard sauce. Mustard sauce sound great!!
So happy that you were able to join us to celebrate Asian Salads! Thank you! Oh I know the hot mustard adds a special something to this salad. 😉