Chinese Celery Salad

Crunchy celery with silky tofu skin (liángbàn qíncài dòufu pí)

7 ingredients•Prep: 10 mins•Cook: 5 mins

Jameson Hsu•

April 15, 2024

Chinese celery and tofu skin salad, also known as liángbàn qíncài dòufu pí in Mandarin (涼拌芹菜豆腐皮). There are so many ways you can liángbàn, which basically means cold mixed (salad). The main difference from a western salad is that the vegetables are usually cooked, making it easier for digestion.

I grew up with a few variations of a Chinese celery salad, using whichever celery type we had on hand. Sometimes even throwing in more or less ingredients like carrots!

Here’s how to make this one.

Ingredients (7)

Vegetable and tofu

Chinese celery(1 bunch, cut into short 3 inch sticks)
Dried tofu skin sticks(1 handful, rehydrated and torn into smaller pieces)

Sauce

Light soy sauce(1 Tbsp)
Rice vinegar(½ Tbsp)
Toasted sesame oil(1 tsp)
Toasted sesame seeds(½ Tbsp, crushed between fingers)
Soy sauce(1 Tbsp)
substitute with MSG, or other veg bouillon powder

Instructions

In a pot of boiling water, blanch the celery (1 bunch) for about 30 seconds, or until it turns a bright green (30-45 seconds). Immediately remove and set aside. Let it cool. Once cooled, squeeze out excess liquid, making sure to be gentle so it doesn’t become too mushy. Squeeze out excess liquid from the rehydrated tofu skin (1 handful), too! This can be much more aggressive than the celery, since it is meant to be soft.
Add in torn up tofu skin (1 handful), all seasonings and mix with your hand.