Rice, Greens & Tofu with Miso Dressing

+ Mr. Sensitive Plant

I am a sucker for those soggy green salads drenched with miso dressing at Japanese restaurants. The miso dressing is always so creamy and sweet and whatever green stuff happens to be in the bowl (usually iceberg) is purely the vehicle.

I really love the blog Alexandra's Kitchen, and when I saw her Sushi Salad post, I smiled internally, licking my lips, and filed it away in my strange email-recipe-filing-system. The salad is based on a recipe in Hetty McKinnon’s new book Family. It's genius and everything I now want in a salad. I'm still tweaking the dressing...I will update the recipe if I improve it.

For my version, I used white rice and added on tofu. I don't think the tofu was really necessary, but it made it feel like more of a main dish. I grew up on tofu and I'm sharing with you my mom's secret method for pan-frying tofu. It tastes better than it looks.

The surprise ingredient that really brings the salad together is the dried seaweed (nori). It also happens to be a great snack on its own. My kids' favorite part of this meal was putting a little rice on a seaweed sheet and rolling it up like sushi!

Rice, Greens & Tofu with Miso Dressing

For the salad:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (something with a high smoke point)

1 package extra-firm tofu, drained and cubed

Lots of soy sauce

1 to 2 cups frozen, shelled edamame

1/2 large cucumber or 3 to 4 small Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced

2 avocados, peeled and sliced

A few handfuls of baby spinach or other tender greens

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

4 toasted nori seaweed sheets, cut into thin slices

Sea salt

3 cups cooked white or brown rice (or ramen noodles would be good too), warm

For the dressing:

3 tablespoons good-quality miso paste (preferably sweet white miso)

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 to 2 teaspoons sugar

Squeeze of mayonnaise (optional)

1 to 2 tablespoons warm water or more as needed

Serves 4

Cook the tofu: Warm the oil over medium-high heat. In a bowl, toss the tofu with a good amount of soy sauce (maybe 1/4 cup). When the oil is hot, dump the tofu into the pan and let it sizzle, untouched, for about 5 minutes. Stir and flip the tofu cubes around and let cook for another 10 or so minutes, stirring occasionally, so that all sides are browned and crisp.

Cook the edamame: Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and add the edamame. Cook for 1 minute or until they are tender yet still crunchy. Drain and run under cold water.

Make the dressing: In a bowl, whisk together the miso paste, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, mayo (if using), and enough water to make it smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired.

Assemble the salad: You can set out all of the components and let diners assemble their own bowls (warning: you will end up dirtying around 10,000 bowls), or you can combine everything in one large bowl (except for the seaweed and sesame seeds--those should go on as garnishes just before eating).

Mr. Sensitive Plant

There is now a strange and sort of depressing fixture lurking on our table: The Sensitive Plant (Mimosa pudica). This plant was given to my daughter as a birthday present. True to its name, it is highly sensitive and super finicky. The leaves curl up when you touch them. They also curl up and go to sleep when the sun goes down. It's supposed to be a flowering plant, but we've never seen any flowers.

I can't believe we haven't killed it yet. (As you can see from the photo, it is close to death.) I rescued Mr. Sensitive Plant from certain death in my daughter's room, where she had been watering it about 15 times a day and manhandling it constantly. I moved it about the house and have decided that it is most happy in the dappled sunlight on our dining table. So there it shall sit, barely holding on to life, and reminding us that plants are living things that have personalities and preferences.

Do I talk to it sometimes? Yes, I do. Do I look at it obsessively, trying to will it to flourish and maybe even flower? Of course. Am I turning into a crazy house plant freak? Yes, I believe so.