Easy Japanese Tofu Salad with Seaweed
This Japanese tofu salad with seaweed is a delicious side dish, perfect for a quick lunch or dinner. Enjoy it with a homemade ginger and soy sauce dressing to add a burst of flavor to the salad!
Looking for simple salads? Try my Wakame Salad, Sunomono Salad, or Daikon Salad!
If you want to try a new recipe with tofu, this salad with seaweed is a great place to start. Tofu’s neutral flavor allows it to soak up the dressing’s flavors, while seaweed adds texture and essential nutrients such as calcium.
With its flavorful homemade ginger dressing and nutritious ingredients, this salad perfectly satisfies your cravings while keeping you feeling great!
All right, let me show you how to make this wholecome salad. To check the recipe, please click below to jump to the recipe card. Let’s get started!
About This Recipe
- Japanese tofu salad recipe
- Homemade ginger dressing
- Variations of ingredients and dressing
📋 Ingredients
Here are the ingredients (amounts are in the recipe card below).
- Tofu: You can choose either firm or silken tofu. I use firm tofu in this recipe. You can find more in the next section.
- Seaweed Mix: You can buy a package with mixed dried seaweed. I will explain this in the following section for you.
- Green vegetables: I like adding leafy greens, such as lettuce, sprouts, and spinach, but you can add any fresh vegetables.
- Dressing: A blend of ginger, vinegar, oil, sugar, and soy sauce. Also, you can try it with this miso, creamy sesame dressing, or your favorite dressing. You can find more dressing variations below.
Tofu
You can find two types at a store – silken and firm.
Silken tofu (Kinu) has a soft and delicate texture due to its high water content, making it easy to break apart. On the other hand, firm tofu (Momen) has a denser texture and a slightly richer taste.
Both are great for a salad. However, firm tofu or extra-firm tofu would be a better choice as it holds its shape better and provides a nice texture to the dish. If your tofu contains too much water, then you can press the tofu to remove the excess water and achieve a firmer texture.
Seaweed Mix
We have a wide variety of seaweed to choose from in Japan, such as wakame, hijiki, nori, and kombu. You can find them in various dishes, from savory miso soup to seasoned rice.
Seaweed contains many minerals, such as calcium, zinc, iron, etc. It also has high amounts of dietary fiber, which helps keep your digestive system functioning correctly.
This seaweed mix is the perfect addition to any salad. It comes with various types of dried seaweed in multiple colors, brightening your lunch or dinner even more!
This package includes seven different seaweeds, and here’s the picture! These are great for not just salads but also miso soup. You can find seaweed mix at your local Asian grocery stores or online.
🔪Instructions
Let me walk you through how to make it step by step. You can also watch this video.
- Soak seaweed for 10 minutes and drain.
- Cut tofu and green vegetables (Drain tofu and no need to press it)
- Make the ginger dressing (Blend all the dressing ingredients in a bottle by shaking)
- Serve (Vegetables, tofu, seaweed, and dressing on the top)
I’m ready to dig in! Quick, easy, and delicious tofu salad are here. I can’t wait for you to try it out with me!
Variations of Vegetables
Add colorful and crunchy vegetables to enjoy the salad more! Here are some variations:
- Green onion
- Red bell pepper
- Red cabbage
- Red onion
- Romaine lettuce
- Cucumber
- Cherry tomatoes
- Edamame
Variations of Dressings
The tofu and seaweed salad would pair well with many different dressings to add more flavor and texture. Here are some additional dressing suggestions:
- Sesame Dressing: Whisk together sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, maple syrup, sesame seeds, and mayonnaise.
- Creamy Avocado Dressing: Blend avocado, lime juice, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt.
- Miso Dressing: Whisk together miso paste, rice vinegar, honey, and olive oil.
- Creamy Balsamic Dressing: Click the link to see how to make this simple and delicious dressing.
- Creamy Peanut Dressing: Whisk together peanut butter, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, honey, garlic, and water.
FAQ
Both the firm and silken tofu are great for a salad. However, firm tofu or extra-firm tofu would be a better choice as it holds its shape better and provides a nice texture to the dish. If your tofu contains too much water, then you can press the tofu to remove the extra water and achieve a firmer texture.
Yes! Japanese tofu salad is a raw tofu dish.
If you’re a fan of tofu, we have the perfect Japanese appetizer, “Hiyayakko.” It is made with raw tofu and topped with toppings like shredded nori or chopped scallion to give it extra flavor- it’s also seasoned with soy sauce!
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Easy Japanese Tofu Salad With Seaweed
Print Pin SaveIngredients
- 1/2 Firm Tofu, 150g
- 1 Tbsp Dried Seaweed Mix
- Green vegetables of your choice
Instructions
- Soak seaweed: Soak dried seaweed mix in the water for 10 minutes and drain.
- Cut ingredients: Cut tofu into bite-size and cut green vegetables.
- Dressing: Put all the dressing ingredients in a small bottle, put the lid on, and shake to blend.
- Serve: Place green vegetables on a plate, tofu, and seaweed in order, and pour some dressing.
Video
Notes
- Substitute: If you can’t find a seaweed mix, finding dried wakame or dried hijiki would be easier. You can use one single seaweed.
- Dressing: You can also try this creamy sesame dressing. Just salt and olive oil work well, too, or use store-bought dressing if you’re not in the mood to make your own.
- No need to press tofu for this salad, but if you like extra-firm tofu, follow how to press tofu instructions.
- Pick any green vegetables you like. I used lettuce and mizuna in this recipe.
Beautiful thank you except we didn’t need the sugar added into the ginger dressing.
Thank you for your comment, Pixie!! Yup, feel free to omit the sugar!
Chef JA,
Thanks for posting your tofu/seaweed salad recipe. Delicious! I’ve been eating variations of it all week.
Your labeled photos ID’ing various types of seaweed are also useful. So far, I’ve only been able to locate fresh seaweed—actually kelp, maybe kombu? It’s a little strong for salad, so now, based on your photos, I’m going to send away for dried seaweeds of the kinds I know I like.
I also made your ginger/ rice vinegar dressing. It’s very tasty, though I cut out 1/2 the sugar. So handy to keep a jar of it in the fridge that I can add to salad dressing every day! Your YouTube demonstration was blessedly short and easy to follow.
Yours,
Kimi
Wow,thank you so much for trying my recipes, Kimi! I got excited to see your comment:)
I’m so glad you like them! It’s easy to buy dried seaweed here but I wasn’t sure people out of Japan can get dried seaweed. It is good to know that you can arrange my recipes to your taste.
Thank you.