Dry Tofu N Celery Salad

Let's take a breather and make something light and easy today. In Huaiyang dining (Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou etc), starters are a must. This is one of them. Good for hot days when you don't want to fry (literal and otherwise) or even as a 'bulker' when you're dieting because its a low-calorie dish.

Dry Tofu N Celery Salad

5 pieces dry/hard tofu (tofu gan)
2 stalks celery, julienned finely
light soy sauce
sesame oil

1. Put 5 cups water into a small pot and when it boils, blanch the celery and quickly scoop them out, drain well and let cool.

2. Wash the tofu and put them into the same pot of water (add more water to cover tofu) and boil 15 to 20 min. Remove and when cool, julienne the tofu finely. Mix with the celery.

3. Now add sesame oil and a tasty light soy sauce like Maggi's* to the tofu-celery mixture and toss well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Cover and leave in fridge till ready to serve.

*For Bento's sake :p , use Maggi's soy sauce for dips and salads only. When cooking, braising, frying etc use regular light soy sauce (Kikkoman) because Maggi soy sauce is too adulterated in taste (msg!) and scent for cooking.