The perfect salad for entertaining

A beautiful summery meal that won't take long to throw together. I love the Asian flavours in the dressing combined with the sweetness of the mandarin juice. Dusting the tofu in cornflour gives it a little crunch and subtle flavour. I would also make this dish with prawns or chicken. If you aren't cooking for vegetarians, you can use fish sauce instead of the coconut aminos.

650g firm tofu

⅓ cup cornflour

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 large heads bok choy

320g soba noodles

A drizzle of oil

1 cup peas

1 avocado, sliced

1 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1 cup fresh mint, roughly chopped

¼ cup pickled ginger, roughly chopped

1 red chilli, thinly sliced

1 medium shallot, very thinly sliced

2 tablespoons coconut aminos or fish sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Zest of 2 mandarins

Juice of 4 mandarins

Juice of 2 juicy limes

To make the tangy mandarin dressing, whisk the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil on a high heat.

Pat the tofu dry with paper towels. Cut the tofu into 2cm slices, then cut each slice in half lengthways. Mix the cornflour, onion powder and garlic powder on a plate. Dip each piece of tofu into the cornflour mix (you want a generous coating). Set aside.

Trim off the base of the bok choy and cut the leaves crossways into 2cm slices.

Add the soba noodles to the boiling water and cook as per the packet instructions.

While the noodles are cooking, heat a large pan on a medium/high heat. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Fry the tofu in batches until crispy on both sides. Set aside.

When the noodles have 30 seconds of cooking time to go, add the bok choy and peas. Pour the noodles and veges into a colander then run under cold water for roughly 20 seconds. Drain well and transfer to a serving platter.

Add the avocado and half the coriander and mint and toss gently. Arrange the tofu pieces on top of the noodles. Spoon over the chunky bits from the tangy mandarin dressing, then pour over the dressing.

Garnish with the ginger, chilli and the remaining coriander and mint.