I love noodles prepared in any way. No matter if pasta in Italy, Suppennudeln in Austria, Ramen in Japan, or Pad Thai in Thailand. And because I know that we are all starting to get a little sick of the fall vegetables I decided to share a more summery recipe to boost your mood with this weather.
To be honest, I am not a Pasta Salad lover, I definitely prefer warm pasta over cold one, which also is the reason that this is a “warm pasta salad”! Especially with Glass Noodles I find that they often happen to stick together which I am no fan of at all. This super delicious dish is made with whole bunch of different vegetables and a lot of nutrients!
The pasta dish itself is made out of glass noodles, also called rice noodles, bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, and brussel sprouts. This is what I usually have in the fridge on a daily basis and what most people have too. I love using these ingredients because I can just cook this meal from scratch without having to go to the shop, whenever I want. If you happen to have different vegetables in the fridge constantly such as celery or bean sprouts or whatever, you can just use those. This is what I love about this, it is super versatile because it is not a “traditional pad Thai recipe”.
When it comes to the sauce, let me tell you, it is super addicting! I do not only use this for the Pad Thai but also for dips, as bowl or salad dressing, or to coat in stir-fries. It is so good and tangy and just pairs so well with the rice noodles because they soak it all up and take on the flavor. To make it you have to add a few ingredients to the food processor which are peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, (vegan) fish sauce, ginger, scallions, and honey. Simply blend it all up and its done! Pretty simple-what?
This sounds pretty mouthwatering so far, don´t you think? But, I promise, we haven’t reached the best part of the dish so far: the crispy tofu. I know, the non-vegans out there are probably going to think, “oh no, not another one who is trying to convince me that Tofu is good! It is just plain and tastes like nothing!”. Yes, I get what you are saying and I have had that before too, but I tell you, try out this recipe and you will be convinced opposite! This way to prepare tofu is so delicious and super easy and quick too! Literally 10 minutes!
To make this incredibly tasty Tofu you first need to buy firm or extra firm tofu. Once you decide to make it, take it out of the package and take a few pieces of kitchen roll and lay them out on a flat surface. Add the tofu on top and place a few pieces of kitchen above it. Take a heav weight, this can be a book, a cutting board or whatever you have on hand, and put it on top. If you let that stand for about 5 minutes, the water will go out of the tofu and you will be left with some firmer and less moist tofu. If you do have a tofu press at home, you can skip this step and use it!
Next we need to cut it and coat it into small pieces, I like them to be like 1cm cubes but that is totally up to your preference. Coat them in some cornstarch. This will help the Tofu crisping up when in the pan. Now heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan. Sesame oil works best here because it has a really nice flavor which goes very well with this. Once hot, add in the tofu and you will be able to watch it get crispy on the outside. Stir it around and let it fry for about 2-3 minutes or until golden brown and really crispy. We are almost done, but now we have to add some flavor. This actually makes the tofu. While it is still in the hot pan, we add some sauce. I love to use a wok sauce but you can also go for soy sauce, stir-fry sauce, hoisin sauce or whatever you love. You can find these pre made sauces at any supermarket. Once added the sauce we let the tofu cook for another 2 minutes.
Now we can assemble the noodles, top with the tofu, some fresh scallions, peanuts and sriracha for that extra kick! I honestly love this dish as a quick lunch or light dinner. It gives me some summer vibes because of all the different colours and is super delicious. I hope that you will like it to and if you decide to recreate it be sure to tag me on Instagram with @uneptcuisiniere or with #unepetitecuisiniere! Also, it would mean a whole lot to me if you would leave a comment and rating under the blog post! Thank you very much and enjoy!
XX
Katie
Rice Noodle Salad with Best Crispy Tofu
A delicious Pad-Thai-ish recipe. Healthy and vegan and really delcious. It is amazing during hot summer days or for all of you who want to get some summer feels druing these days.
What you will need
For the Base:
- 150 g Rice Noodles about 0.5cm thick
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 zucchini
- 3 carrots
- 1 bell pepper I like to use red one
- 6 brussel sprouts
For the Sauce:
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp fish sauce vegan
- 2 tsp honey or brown sugar
- 3 cm ginger
- 2 scallions
- 1.5 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp sriracha
- 1 tbsp Water
For the Tofu:
- 250 g firm Tofu
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
For the toppings:
- crushed peanuts
- fresh scallions
- some hot sauce
How to
That is how it works:
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Bring a pot with water to a boil and cook the rice noodles according to package instructions.
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Lay down a piece of kitchen roll down on a flat surface. Add the tofu on top and another piece. Above lay something heavy such as a cutting board or a book and let it press for about 4-5 minutes.
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Meanwhile cut the vegetables into thin strips. The thinner the better, because they will be easier to eat with the noodles.
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In a small blender add all the ingredients for the sauce and blend until smooth.
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Cut up the tofu into 1cm sized chunks. Coat them in the corn starch. Heat up 1 tbsp of sesame oil in a pan. Once hot add teh tofu and let it fry for about 3-4 minutes. Then add the soy or stir-fry sauce and let it cook for another 2 minutes.
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Meanwhile heat up 1 tbsp of sesame oil in a pan. Once hot add the vegetables and stir-fry them.
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By now the noodles should be done cooking. Reserve a little of the cooking water, and drain the noodles. Add them into the pan with the vegetables and pour over the sauce. Add some of the reserved water, it will help everything to combine very well.
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Once mixed together seperate it onto the plates. Top it with the Tofu and some crushed peanuts, thinly sliced scallions and some more hot sauce if you like!
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Serve and enjoy!
