SICHUAN CELERY AND TOFU SALAD

Sichuan Celery and Tofu Salad image

This otherwise simple salad, adapted from a dish at Szechuan Gourmet in Manhattan, may require a trip to a Chinese market for Szechuan peppercorns and pressed tofu. And you'll need to make your own chili oil! But here's the thing. The effort, which really isn't much more than difficult shopping, produces an elegant dish that is worth whatever shoe leather or mileage you'll expend getting the ingredients together. It is astonishingly good. And we'll even allow one substitution. You can use regular celery instead of the Chinese version!

Provided by Mark Bittman

Time 20m

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 12

Ingredients

1 cup peanut oil
1 piece ginger, 2 inches long, cut into 3 or 4 slices
1 piece cinnamon, 3 inches long
3 cloves
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 star anise
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns
1/4 cup red chile flakes, or more to taste
Salt
1 bunch Chinese celery, or regular celery, thinly sliced
4 to 6 ounces pressed tofu, thinly sliced or julienned

Steps:

Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; when it simmers, add ginger, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns and chili flakes. Remove from heat and let sit until cool, at least 1 hour and preferably 2 or 3. Strain oil into a bowl or jar and discard spices.
Put a pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add celery and blanch for about a minute; drain in colander and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.
Layer celery and tofu on serving plates, drizzle with chili oil and sprinkle with salt.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 554, UnsaturatedFat 44 grams, Carbohydrate 11 grams, Fat 57 grams, Fiber 4 grams, Protein 5 grams, SaturatedFat 10 grams, Sodium 361 milligrams, Sugar 2 grams, TransFat 0 grams