Grannys Award-Winning Tofu-Rice Salad
1 cup tofu and/or seitan, diced
4 cups cooked brown rice, wild rice, or quinoa
1/2 cup pine nuts and/or chopped pecans
3/4 cup golden raisins, plumped in hot water and then drained
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil (I use 2-3 teaspoons sesame oil and add olive oil to make 1/3 cup)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons light soy sauce or Tamari sauce
1/4 tablespoon pepper
lettuce leaves, to serve
paprika, to garnish
parsley or cilantro, to garnish
1. Toss ingredients up to lettuce, and chill 1 hour.
2. Arrange on lettuce leaves and sprinkle with paprika; garnish with parsley or cilantro.
The beauty of this is that not only can it be made in advance, but it must be made ahead of time. This recipe lends itself well to a small amount of ginger powder or grated fresh ginger. You can skip the oil and vinegar and use a vegan mayonnaise.
Source of recipe: It's mine, but it will be published in a special edition of the Visalia Times-Delta.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
Loved it! Next time I'll add some steamed veggies like some other posters have suggested. This time I was busy and just wanted it finished. I didn't have pecans or pine nuts - I used half almonds and half walnuts. Hubby loved it and packed it for his lunch at work tomorrow - he threw in an extra container of it for a friend.
This was pretty good. I marinated my tofu with a little bit of bragg's amino, and used that instead of the soy sauce. I think I used too much, because the overall taste of my salad was a tad salty. Other than it, it is pretty tasty - Seems like a recipe that would be quite forgiving and lend to various substitutions and still taste good. I will be making this again. Thank you.
Oh, and I also added balsamic vinegar.
So, I changed this recipe a lot: I used couscous instead of rice, subbed roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds for the pine nuts, used marinated, broiled tofu, regular raisins, Nayonaise instead of the oil/vinegar, extra seasonings, and added steamed carrot, broocoli, and cauliflower. It made a TON, which was great because I had a VERY busy week and this made my dinners sooo unbelievably easy - it lasted all week! It doesn't have any sort of knock-you-over kind of flavor, but it is amazingly addictive. I'll for sure be making it again - next time I might use quinoa for extra protein and I think I'll add chopped green olives. Delicious!
This was fantastic! I used quinoa/roasted sunflower seeds/ dried cranberries since that is what I had available. I also squeezed 1 lime into it at the end which added a nice flavor. It really gets better with age. I took it to work for lunch for 4 days and it kept tasting better. I'm definatly going to make this again and again.... But next time I might use less oil and use more vinegar and lime juice to make it more healthy. Thanks so much for this recipe!!! :D
This was insanely good. A refreshing, unusual, delicious blend of flavors: sweet, salty, tangy, and spicy. Great to make ahead for hot summer days. I added some steamed broccoli to the salad, which turned out to be an excellent idea. Next time I think I'll add ginger and asparagus too. YUM!
This is so good and perfect for bringing to work/school. I was a little unsure of how it would taste as I was mixing everything together, but it turned out really tasty! I didn't have any raisins but I'm sure it would be good with them--next time! Good job & thanks!
My family and I absolutley LOVE this salad. I used quinoa and dark raisins instead of brown rice and the golden raisins-and added some toasted almonds. Thank you!
I made this recipe with the tofu/brown rice/pine nut/golden raisin combination and it was great! Even my family (who generally cowers away from anything vegan, especially with tofu)tried it and loved it. Highly recommended.