Mizuna Salad is a salad using Mizuna greens which have been cultivated in Japan from ancient times. Here Mizuna is mixed with grilled Aburaage (Usuage) fried Tofu and a Japanese mustard dressing.
Mizuna is in the same family as mustard greens, but it has a much milder taste. The green frilly leaves and thin white stalks are often cooked in Nabemono and in Nimono/Nibitashi with some kind of meat, although Mizuna should be cooked lightly so that it doesn’t lose its crispness. If you want to enjoy the texture of the vegetable, it is best eaten as a salad. The very refreshing but mild flavor of Mizuna goes well with any kind of dressing. We used a Soy Sauce-based dressing with Karashi Japanese mustard, but you could replace Karashi with ginger or Wasabi. Aburaage, fried thin tofu grilled to be crispy, is added to the salad. It works like croutons, but a little lighter and healthier. The Aburaage absorbs the dressing quickly and may get soft if left too long so it’s best to serve right after adding the dressing.
It takes absolutely no time to make this super easy salad. If you can find Mizuna at a Japanese market, try this simple but delicious salad at home!
Mizuna Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Mizuna
- 2 rectangles Aburaage
Dressing
- 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp Japanese yellow mustard
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Pan-fry Aburaage until lightly browned and crispy. Cut into 1/2″(1 cm) strips.
- Wash, dry and cut Mizuna into 2″ (5 cm) long pieces.
- Mix all the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Mix Mizuna and Aburaage in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over and mix well.
Video
