Hey there! I know this comment is probably old but you might try either cutting five spice tofu into strips or getting the dried tofu skin sticks, soaking them, and carefully cutting them into thin strips. That’s what I do when I can’t find the fresh stuff. Still tastes delicious!

Not sure the type of cucumber you use, but I think the small cucumber (Persian cucumber) and English cucumber are less watery than American cucumber.
The other thing you can do is to sprinkle a bit salt on the cut cucumber and let sit for 10 minutes, then rinse off the salt and squeeze out water. The cucumber will have a nice chewy texture afterwards and won’t release so much water once you mix the salad.

I really like this recipe and have prepared the salad several times, but I have one question: the cucumber always draws out a lot of water so that the dressing gets somewhat watery and diluted. (I did deseed the cucumber.) Is there some kind of trick to avoid this, or can I replace the cucumber with something different that also adds some crunch and freshness to the salad but doesn’t dilute the dressing that much?

Thank you!

When I bought the tofu it’s already cut – strands with ends attached.
You don’t need the specific cut for this dish. If you bought the large uncut sheets, you can simply slice them to thin strands.
Happy cooking and hope you enjoy the dish!

Oh my god, thanks for the tip! I’ve been searching everywhere on how to properly cook these because of the “rubber band” texture

I don’t see why not! Should be filling and delicious.