Ingredients

For the dressing:

1 tablespoon soy sauce

6 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon sugar (preferably palm sugar)

1-3 Thai bird chilis or serrano peppers, seeds and ribs removed (or see above)

1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots, preferably the large red variety

salt

For the salad:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 pound extra-firm tofu, cut into 3/8" thick slabs

salt and black pepper

1 cup medium diced seedless English cucumber

4 green onions, white and light green parts, cut into small bite sized lengths

1/2 cup cilantro leaves + some for garnish

2 tablespoons minced fresh mint

Preparation

Dressing:

  1. Combine all ingredients. Taste and add salt as needed, and adjust other components to get a good balance of flavors. It should be very intense, it will seem much more mild when added to the salad. Salad:
  2. Heat the oil over a medium-high flame in a large skillet, preferably cast iron. Pat the tofu dry. Add in a single layer to the skillet and fry until quite brown on one side, about 3-5 minutes. Flip and brown on the other side. Remove to paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
  3. After the tofu has cooled, slice it thinly, about 1/8" or so. 3. Toss the tofu and all remaining ingredients with the dressing. 4. Garnish with a few leaves of cilantro and serve (with sticky rice, or lettuce leaves, or just a fork :)