
February 13, 2012: Shojin Dressing
February 13, 2012I honestly never thought to top my Goma-Dare dressing recipe, and while similar in taste, I think I like this Shojin Dressing even better. The addition of silken tofu makes for a creamier and even more healthy mixture. This is so delicious on salads or as a dip for fresh vegetables.
The term “Shojin” follows an ancient Zen-Buddhist food preparation. Not only vegetarian, but also vegan and macrobiotic, you would think that Shojin cooking might be a tad on the bland side, but not so! This dressing is full of the fresh tastes of peanut, garlic, lemon, and chili, all in a creamy base.
Shojin Dressing:
- 1 Block of Silken Tofu (if you can get the tofu out in one piece and lay on a few sheets of paper towel to remove excess H2O, this helps reduce moisture in the dressing, but silken tofu is like custard and is very fragile.)
- 1 Clove Garlic (I used 1/2 Clove Elephant Garlic) chopped fine
- 1 Tsp. Fresh Chili Peppers, chopped fine
- 2 Tblsp. Smooth Peanut Butter
- 2 Tblsp. Lemon Juice
- 2 Tblsp. Olive Oil
- 2 Tblsp. Mirin
- 2 Tblsp. Shoyu
Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend well. I piped the dressing onto a salad of baby greens, grape tomatoes, baby zucchini, grated cabbage and carrot sticks. I topped with a dash of paprika (for color) and toasted sesame seeds. Refrigerate any leftover dressing.
Wow. Fast. Very healthy, and so very tasty. I may never buy bottled dressing ever again!
03.05.12 Update: I made this for Teja and the girls this weekend. Teja said that he had something like this before in Japan, but it wasn’t quite as hot as mine. I like my addition of hot peppers to this recipe, but the kids didn’t like the heat. Readers should be aware that for a more traditional dish, omit the peppers.
Wow this sounds great. Help me understand the chili though – Would one finely chopped jalapeño pepper (sans seeds) work?
Lisa- The jalapeno pepper is about the same strength of what I used from my pepper store from my article “Prepping Peppers” https://worldofokonomy.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/october-20-2011-prepping-peppers/
Use the 1 teaspoon of the jalapeno. You want a bit of heat, but not too much. If you like a hotter dressing, a whole pepper might be fine. I know that 1 teaspoon of pepper works well for my taste.
Oh, this looks delicious! Think I know what I’ll be making for salad dressing this week!