I adore vermicelli salads. They're hands one of my favorite foods. I'm about to go out of town for a couple of weeks and I have some produce that I absolutely need to eat up before I go! So, instead of trying to figure out how to use miniature potatoes, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, zucchini, and tofu in a cohesive dish or series of recipes? I'm just tossing them all into a lettuce-less salad. I'm not a big fan of lettuce. Or really salads for that matter. I usually think of them as being boring and covered in mayonnaise. Which kind of defeats the purpose of eating a salad as a whole meal! I guess that that's fine as a side to a larger dish. Although I'd rather just make one big, delicious recipe and call it a day. Hence the Vermicelli Salad w/ Potatoes & Tomatoes.
Today I'm utilizing all of my produce in one dish and tossing it in tahini, tamari, and rice vinegar. Although you can easily mix and match the produce and dressing to fit your own personal tastes, preferences, and what you have on hand. Soy sauce, honey, olive oil, lemon or lime, and even vinaigrette are all fun options.
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Variations of Potatoes Vermicelli Salad
I make vermicelli salads all of the time. I don't always put miniature potatoes in them because that's one more thing to cook. Although you can mix them in and cook them with the tofu or trade them in for any other raw fruits or vegetables of choice. I tend to use a lot of bell peppers, zucchini, and summer squash. But, really, the sky is the limit for this salad!
Add about 4 inches of water to a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
Cook vermicelli according to the manufacturer's instructions.Vermicelli cooks very quickly. I tend to add the vermicelli and then immediately remove it from heat. Then, go on to prepare the produce. Merely sitting in the once boiling water is sufficient enough soften it enough to eat without overcooking.
Fry Tofu
While the pot is boiling for the vermicelli, drain the water out of the tofu and cut into cubes.
Wrap in paper towels to absorb the moisture.It's important to absorb as much water out of the tofu as you can. Oil is less dense than water, so the molecules repel one another. With cold ingredients, this causes separation. When you're frying at high temperatures, though, this can cause boiling hot oil to spray back at you.
Meanwhile, preheat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
When the skillet has preheated and the majority of the water has absorbed into the paper towels, carefully add the tofu to the skillet. Fry until golden brown. This should take about 2-4 minutes. Rotate until all sides are evenly fried.
Remove from heat and wrap again in paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
Cook Potatoes
Add potatoes to the same heated skillet.
Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until tender and lightly browned.Make sure to stir rather frequently. If it browns too quickly, add more oil and lower the temperature. If it doesn't brown quickly enough, increase the heat.
Assemble Salad
Mince and chop all of the produce and add to a large bowl.
It can help to mix the tamari, rice vinegar, tahini, and lime together in a separate bowl and then mix in. Although this isn't explicitly necessary as long as the tahini doesn't clump together.
Add in tofu, potatoes, and tomatoes.You can really mix the tofu and potatoes in at any time. However, tomatoes go back much faster than the other ingredients, so I don't mix them in until serving and store them separately.
Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator for about an hour. I'm quite fond of this dish at room temperature or mixed in with salmon or scrambled eggs. It keeps incredibly well in the refrigerator, though. There's enough sodium and acidity in the mix to last for about a week without the produce browning. The liquid will start to separate and just need stirring before serving again.
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