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Don’t know why I have been craving for this Bean Curd and Seaweed  Cold Appetizer, maybe because we haven’t got a chance to go the local Chinese restaurant that we usually have this lately. Also recently I read a forwarded email talking about a man having some cancerous disease and then he started to eat seaweed after an advise from a physician. After couple years later, the cancerous symptoms were completely gone. I know, why do I really believe, it’s a forwarded email.

However I have done some research on seaweeds. They are nutritious with high in fiber, calcium, magnesium and iodine. But always be safe not to consume too much of one food, we should always keep our diet balance with a wide variety.

This dish is really easy, just have to do some cutting. Plus the weather is so hot during the summer, I don’t cook a lot.

Cold appetizer is great.  I have tried two kinds of seaweed, they can easily be found in the Asian market. One of them is the fresh seaweed knot and the other one is a kind of salted preserved fresh seaweed I got it from the promoter in the store. You just have to soak or rinse the seaweeds, so they don’t get too salty, mix it up with the sauce you will get a great cold app.

Ingredients:
4 pieces of dry five-spiced tofu (sliced) 五香豆腐干
1 big bowl of fresh seaweed knots/ preserved seaweed 海帶結/鮮海帶

For the sauce:
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 handful of cilantro (chopped)
2-3 stalks scallions (chopped)
1 tbsp soy sauce paste
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chili oil (老乾媽辣椒油)
1/4 tsp sugar
few drips of sesame oil
dashes of sesame seeds

Serve for 2-4 ppl

Cooking Method:

1. Cut the dry five-spiced tofu into slices.
2. If using fresh seaweed knots, rinse and blanch with boiling water. Rinse under cold water, drain. If using the salted fresh seaweed pieces, rinse off the salt and soak for 1-2 minutes, till tender and not too salty.
3. Mix up the sauce and all ingredients, you can adjust based on preference. More garlic or not spicy is up to you.
4. Combine the five-spiced tofu, seaweed and sauce. Top with toasted sesame seeds and serve.

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When I dine out with my friends, most of the time seafood will be my order selection. Especially crab, shrimp, clams…you named it, they are all my favorites. Well, I guess this is the reason why my friend nick-named me as a “Seafood Fanatic”.

During my last visit to the Asian market, I bought a box of frozen Arctic Surf Clams as it was on sale. Since the clams were fully cooked and good to be served as cold appetizer, so i made myself a simple and nice clam salad over the weekend.

Ingredients
1 box of Artic Surf Clams
1 box of Japanese Seaweed Salad
2 stalks Green Onion (Chopped)
1 Lime
1 tsp White Wine
1/2 Cucumber (Sliced)
2pcs Romance Lettuce Leafs

Preparation:

1. Defrost the Artic surf clams at room temperature (Do not use microwave).
2. Cut the clams into halves, rub and rinse with cold water.
3. Dry the clams.
4. Put Roman lettuce leafs on the plate.
5. Put the seaweed salad on plate and lay the clams on top of it.
6. Top with some green onions, squeeze the lime juice and finish with a teaspoon of white wine over the clams.
7. Place the sliced cucumber on side.
8. Chill for a minimum of an hour before serving.