Nourishing Herbed Shan "Tofu" Salad with Greens & Garlic Basil Dressing (Soy-Free)

I've been told countless times that I eat too much soy. While I've read conflicting arguments, it remains a kind of staple in my diet. I've found almond and soy milk to be the only dairy replacements that don't separate and cause residue in my tea or cereal, edamame is one of my favourite snacks, and tofu is so easy to chop, fry or scramble. Plus, it's so much cheaper than its lesser-evil fermented soy-based cousin, tempeh. I do stand behind the "fewer processed foods" side of the argument, though- and I try to use other replacements as often as I can. Usually, it's when I'm not feeling lazy or hangry (hungry + angry; it's a real condition). The latest one I've tried comes from Burma, and it's so simple to make.

Burmese Shan tofu is also known on the web as "chickpea tofu" for its chickpea flour base. The recipe below is adapted from the cookbook Burma: Rivers of Flavor by Naomi Duguid. The basic recipe calls for water, chickpea flour, salt and turmeric, with one or two other optional spices. I haven't seen anyone do a whole lot with it experimentally, so I wanted to try giving it some panache. The first few tries turned out perfectly, and you could cut through them more smoothly than firm tofu. This time, I didn't take it out of the pan immediately after it set and the condensation made it a bit softer. Its consistency was more like medium-firm tofu, but the flavour was delicious with the herbs and it was easy to firm up in the frying pan. I'd recommend you remove it from the pan after an hour or so, and dab off any condensation before storing for later use.

Shan tofu can be fried or baked and used on salads, or even sliced thinly and used as noodles when it's firm enough. The inside is quite soft when chopped and cooked in a pan, so the texture might not be for everyone. However you use it, it's an excellent replacement for tofu- one cup of chickpea flour holds 21g of protein. Because the tofu needs to set, be prepared to make it ahead of time. 

Herbed Shan "Tofu" Salad with Greens & Garlic Basil Dressing (Soy-Free) 

Ingredients

For the "tofu":
2 cups chickpea flour
2 + 4 cups water
3 tbsp freshly chopped herbs (I used basil, rosemary, oregano & garlic chives)
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp coarse ground sea salt

For the salad:
Mixed greens of your choice
Avocado
Pumpkin Seeds
Grated carrot & beet
Thinly sliced red onion
Sesame seeds for garnish
+ any other of your favourite veggies/seeds

For the dressing:
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
1 clove grated/finely chopped garlic
1/8 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
*makes enough for two large salads

Directions

Lightly grease a medium-sized (8-10") baking dish.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, 2 cups of water, herbs and spices until smooth. In a large pot, bring the other 4 cups of water to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, and slowly stir in the chickpea flour mixture. Keep stirring for about five minutes, until the mixture is smooth and thickened, and remove from heat.

Pour the mixture onto the baking pan evenly and cool in the fridge at least 1 hour before removing it from the pan. Return the tofu you won't be using to the fridge and store in containers.

For the salad, cut the tofu into cubes and fry with coconut oil or any other oil until crispy on all sides and toss together with the salad ingredients. Whisk the dressing ingredients together and serve. (Note: tofu will yield much more than you need for a couple of salads, so try it in a stew, stir fry, soup, etc.)