Dip is usually made with cream or yoghurt, but my Perilla and Tofu Dip is dairy-free. The slightly minty flavour of perilla is so refreshing. It is a low-calorie dip even if you eat it all yourself!
- 18 shiso (Japanese perilla) leaves roughly chopped (about 15g / 0.5oz, note 1)
- 300g / 0.7lb silken tofu (also called kinugoshi tofu)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (note 2)
- ¼ tsp grated garlic
- A pinch of salt
- A sprig of shiso flowers or chopped shiso leaf (optional)
- Carrot sticks
- Celery sticks
- Witlof/endive leaves
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Place a block of tofu in a saucepan filled with water. Bring it to a boil and cook for 1 minute (note 4).
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Transfer the tofu to a sieve lined with a couple of sheets of kitchen paper. Crumble the tofu, then wrap it with the lined kitchen papers. (note 4)
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Squeeze the wrapped tofu to get the water out until the weight of the tofu becomes about 200-225g / 0.4-0.5lb. Let it cool down to room temperature (you can put it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process).
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Put all the ingredients in a blender, including the tofu, and whiz until the shiso leaves become tiny specks and the mixture becomes smooth, without tofu lumps (note 5).
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Transfer to a serving bowl. Place a sprig of shiso flower or chopped shiso on the dip (if using) and serve with veggie sticks.
1. There are green and red shiso leaves. In this recipe I used homegrown green shiso leaves. Because of the homegrown shiso leaves, the size of the leaves varied a lot. Depending on the size of your shiso leaves, you may need a larger or smaller number of leaves.
I gave you the indication of the total weight of the shiso leaves. Thi is indicative because the weight changes depending on how dry/wet the leaves are. I weighed the shiso leaves after rinsing them and pat drying.
2. I used light soy sauce to maintain the whitish green colour of the dip. But if you only have normal soy sauce, you can substitute it. The colour of the dip becomes a touch darker, that’s all.
3. I am going healthy by having just veggie sticks. But you can of course have Perilla and Tofu Dip with crackers and corn chips. Other vegetables such a broccoli, daikon, radish, Chinese cabbage, and cucumber are good too.
4. As an alternative method for reducing the weight of the tofu, you can use a microwave. Place the tofu on a microwave-safe plate with a couple of sheets of kitchen paper. Cover with a kitchen paper and heat at 600W for 5 minutes. Drain and adjust the weight by squeezing more water out.
5. If you prefer, you can leave tiny tofu lumps.
6. Nutrition per serving.
serving: 94g calories: 110kcal fat: 9.6g (15%) saturated fat: 1.3g (7%) trans fat: 0.0g polyunsaturated fat: 2.3g monounsaturated fat: 5.5g cholesterol: 0mg (0%) sodium: 313mg (13%) potassium: 129mg (4%) carbohydrates: 1.7g (1%) dietary fibre: 0.5g (2%) sugar: 0.6g protein: 5.9g vitamin a: 3% vitamin c: 2.`1% calcium: 7.1% iron: 7.7%