Tofu noodle stir-fry
Time: 30 mins | Difficulty: 1/5 | Recommendation: Quick weeknight dinner
Noodle stir-fries are one of the first things I taught myself to make. It’s one of the most forgiving dishes, and it’s a great way to experiment with different flavors and ingredients while also cleaning out your fridge. I boil the noodles separately, then add them to the pan at the end, to get all the flavors to meld together! You can really add anything you want, and you can sub out chicken, or shrimp, or beef strips for tofu here—this is a basic template of one that I make often, and you can riff off of it! Also, the method I describe for tofu is a really great way to cook tofu in general, and get it nice and crispy on the outside. Tip: press down on the noodles when they’re in the hot pan—they’ll release a lot of their water, making some bits kind of crispy. It adds a really nice texture!
Ingredients:
2 thick slices of a tofu block, pressed
1 carrot, sliced into matchsticks
Maitake mushrooms, sliced
Half a red bell pepper, sliced into 1 inch sticks (check out what to do with the other half here!)
Half a white onion, sliced
Scallions
1 packet of curly noodles
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Rice vinegar
Olive oil
Method:
Set a pot of water to boil. When it’s ready, add in the noodles. Drain when done. (Do all the other stuff while the noodles are boiling!
Heat some olive oil in a pan. When it’s hot (hover your hand above the pan to tell), place the tofu slabs on the pan. Add salt and pepper to the tops.
Flip the tofu when the pan-side is golden brown, about 5 minutes later. Salt and pepper the top while the other side cooks. Set aside when both sides are crispy and golden. On your cutting board, chop the slices into six little squares each.
Add more olive oil to the pan, then add in your onions, carrots, and peppers. Sauté over high heat. When they’ve gotten a nice char, add in the maitakes.
Put the tofu back in the pan. Add salt (only a tiny bit, you’ll get some from the soy sauce too), pepper, ginger powder, chili flakes.
When everything is cooked well, add in the drained noodles. Stir it all around on the high heat.
Sprinkle in a good amount of soy sauce, some sesame oil, and a touch of rice vinegar. (If you want some nuttiness, add in some peanut butter now! Or you could get some sweetness by adding in oyster sauce or tamarind sauce!) Stir it all around well, pressing down on the noodles so the moisture escapes.
Plop it all in a bowl and add scallions on top!