Quinoa
Wash the quinoa in room temperature water, while agitating it. Wash it 3 - 4 times, until the water runs fairly clear and is not frothy.
Drain the water from the quinoa using a sieve.
Place the quinoa in a saucepan, along with the water, salt, and garlic.
With the lid closed, place the saucepan on the stove on high heat to bring the water to a boil.
Lower the heat to a simmer and cook the quinoa for about 10 minutes with the lid ajar to let excess moisture evaporate.
After 10 minutes, if there is a visible amount of water present in the pot, remove the lid and cook the quinoa for about 5 minutes uncovered to allow some of the water to evaporate.
Place the lid back on and cook for a further 2 - 5 minutes (2 minutes for white quinoa, and longer for red or black quinoa).
Turn off the heat and keep the lid on the pot for about 5 minutes to allow the quinoa to absorb all the water and rest.
Fluff up the quinoa and set it aside for later.
Tofu
Remove the tofu from the package and drain the excess water in the package.
Pat dry the tofu and cut it into small cubes (about 1 cm small cubes). Place the cut up tofu in a bowl.
Drizzle the soya sauce over the tofu and toss to combine. Let it sit for about 30 minutes (or overnight), only if you have time. Or you can move to the next step immediately.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium / medium high heat with a drizzle of oil.
When the pan is hot, place the tofu (without any liquid) in the pan. Make sure the tofu is in a single layer without over-crowding, so that the tofu pieces can become crisp. Cook in two batches if necessary.
Cook the tofu until at least 2 sides are golden brown and crisp. Place the tofu on a plate.
Kale
Strip the kale leaves from the hard stems. Wash and pat dry.
Layer the leaves on top of each other and cut into 1 - 1 1/2 inch thick strips.
Heat the same pan that you cooked the tofu in, over medium high heat.
When the pan is hot, add the kale and garlic to the pan. There will be a lot of kale, but it will reduce as it cooks.
Sprinkle a little soy sauce (1 - 2 tsp) or a little salt, along with the sesame oil, and mix it in carefully with the kale.
The kale will turn bright green and start to wilt. Once the kale is bright green in colour and only partially wilted, remove from the heat.
Other ingredients
Chop the roasted peanuts, cilantro, and red chili pepper (or red bell pepper).
Slice the green onions.
Assembly
Add the quinoa, crispy tofu, sauteed kale, peanuts, cilantro, red chili, and green onion in a large bowl. Toss to mix everything together.
Refrigerate until the dressing is ready, or needed.
When the dressing is ready, drizzle half of the dressing into the salad. Mix well and taste. Add more if you like.
Serve immediately, or store in the fridge for a few hours to allow the flavors to absorb and to serve the salad chilled.
Miso sesame dressing
Finely chop the ginger and set aside.
Add the vegetable and sesame oil to a medium-sized bowl.
To the oil, add the miso and honey. Whisk really well to make the miso paste very smooth, and to form a creamy, smooth paste.
Add the ginger and rice wine vinegar and whisk well to combine. The dressing will be fairly thick, so you can add a little water to thin it out if you like.
Taste and add more soy sauce or salt to season to your taste. Add more rice wine vinegar or lime juice to add more acidity.
OPTIONAL - Coarsely grind the roasted sesame seeds before adding to the dressing. Or keep them whole.
Add the sesame seeds and stir them in.
Keep the dressing in a glass jar if you need to store it, or use it immediately.
Ingredient
