April was National Soy Foods Month. Don’t be sad if you didn’t realize you were supposed to celebrate. May is National Salad Month and now you can catch up.

Make a salad. Make a dressing out of tofu. Eat. Repeat.

Tofu, pureed in a blender or food processor, becomes as creamy as mayonnaise with almost no fat and absolutely no cholesterol. It also provides a fairly neutral flavor palette upon which you can layer herbs, oils, chilies, vinegars or citrus juices.

Let’s do the math: Two tablespoons of soft tofu has 20 calories, 1 gram of fat, no cholesterol; the same amount of mayonnaise comes with 200 calories, 22 grams of fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol. Tofu also has 2 grams of protein compared with zero for mayo.

You can take just about any dressing that has a mayonnaise base and substitute tofu. Use some oil — a bit of fat helps emulsify the dressing and give it a sturdy foundation — then compensate for the blandness of tofu by increasing acidic elements such as lemon juice or vinegar. Try not to go overboard with salt, so you don’t go off in a different, wrong direction.

I devoted a couple of hours to this pursuit over the weekend and came up with some tasty combinations using items in my pantry and refrigerator. They work as dips for a crudite tray, or thin them out to make a pourable dressing.

One ingredient note: Soft and silken tofu are interchangeable in these dressings. There are subtle differences between the two, but either will work.

Spicy Tomato Tofu Dressing

1 cup silken or soft tofu

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon chili oil (or substitute with olive oil and chili pepper flakes, fresh minced chili pepper or hot pepper sauce, to taste)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Break tofu into pieces and drain in colander. Combine with remaining ingredients in food processor. Process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings. If dressing is too thick, mix in 1 to 2 tablespoons water.

Approximate nutritional analysis per 2-tablespoon serving, using silken tofu: 30 calories, 2 g fat, no saturated fat or cholesterol, 150 mg sodium, 1 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 1 g sugar, 1 g protein

Approximate nutritional analysis per 2-tablespoon serving, using soft tofu: 30 calories, 2.5 g fat, no saturated fat or cholesterol, 150 mg sodium, 1 g carbohydrate, no fiber or sugar, 2 g protein

Variations

All these start with 1 cup silken or soft tofu and follow the same procedure as the dressing above:

» Ginger-lime dressing: 1 teaspoon grated ginger, 2 teaspoons lime juice, 2 tablespoons minced basil leaves, 1 teaspoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

» Easy Caesar dressing: 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, 1 teaspoon dry mustard, 1 clove garlic (minced), 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Recipe hunt

More requests for recipes have piled in from restaurants no longer in operation. Can you help? Be a hero and get in touch (contact information is at the end). If your recipe works out, I’ll send you a cookbook.

»Sweet-sour spare ribs from Chunky’s Drive-In near the old Honolulu Stadium

»Portuguese sausage manapua from Carol’s Bake Shop in Moiliili

» Beef Short Ribs in Spanish Sauce or Split Broiled Chicken from the Flamingo Restaurant on Kapiolani Boulevard

» Chinese black-bean sauce served over tofu and vegetables from Fishmonger’s Restaurant in Ala Moana Center

Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.

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