Piss Easy Tofu Noodle Miso Soup
Sometimes, you need to suck it up, and just deep-fry your tofu. Fuck it, its Christmas.
- Press tofu for as long as you can have time to - between 20 minutes and an hour. Wrap it in a couple of kitchen towels then a teacloth, then place a chopping board and some tins on top.
- Cut into little chunks, then rub with seasoning - a little bouillon powder, salt and pepper, then fry in quite a bit of oil on medium heat for 10 minutes, turning frequently.
- Stir fry half a red onion and a handful of mushrooms, with some grated fresh ginger and a crushed clove of garlic (optional), on medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Boil a portion of dried noodles as per packet instructions.
- Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl with a cup of boiling water, a sachet of miso soup powder, some soy sauce, a splash of lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Miso, Pea and Noodle Soup for One
with Ginger Roasted Forest Nuts
For when you have absolutely no fresh food in the house, like me right now! Honestly, all there is in my friedge is two stellas, a block of tofu and tomato paste.
- 1 sachet instant miso soup disolved in
- 100g wholewheat dried noodles, boiled for 5-10 minutes
- a handful of nuts chucked in a pan on medium for 5 minutes with a splash of soya sauce, lemon juice, a few chilli flakes and 1tsp ginger powder or the sort you get in a jar, preserved in vinegar.
- half a cup of frozen peas, boiled for 5 minutes
- if I had fresh coriander, i’d chuck that in, but I guess it would defeat the point of the meal, so never mind!
Stick it all in a bowl and slurp with chopsticks!
I’m surprised its taken me so long to post this, because its basically my favourite recipe. Super easy, and really tasty. The lime juice really completes this dish, and its way nicer with brown rice noodles.
Get this stuff:
- 1 280g block tofu for 2 people, or 2 for 3-4
- 1 can coconut milk
- 2tsp thai green curry paste
- 2tsp brown sugar
- 2tsp ground coriander
- 1tsp ground ginger
- 1 lime
- vegan stock powder
- 1-2 courgettes (zucchini)
- a big handful green beans
- half a supermarket punnet of white or brown mushrooms (is punnet the right word?)
- as many portions of noodles as people eating
1. Stick the coconut milk, curry paste, sugar and coriander in a deep saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and leave to thicken, stirring ocassionally.
2. Drain the tofu and wrap it in several sheets of kitchen roll, then a teatowel. Place a chopping board on top, and balance on anything to weigh it down eg. 4 tins of beans. Leave for 20 minutes to get most of the water out.
3. Cut into flat squares and rub with salt, pepper and a little stock powder. Fry in a tiny bit of oil, on low, flipping ever few minutes, until it is golden brown. Add to the coconut sauce and leave to soak up the flavours. Set the noddles off boiling.
4. Chop the vegetables up in fairly large bits, and stir fry for 5 minutes in a little olive or peanut oil, adding the mushrooms a minute or two after the rest. Squeeze some lime juice, and salt and pepper over them as they cook.
5. Add a squeeze of lime juice to the sauce and stir in, right before you dish up. Serve the noodles, place the veg on top, then squeeze more lime on each serving before adding the tofu and coconut sauce, which by now, should have thickened quite a bit.
Enjoy (:
I honestly felt like I was at Wagamamas eating this - albeit with non matching utensils and whilst drinking coke from a big ass stolen Starbucks mug… Anyway I cooked for an omni friend last night and he was way impressed. We ate 3-4 peoples worth between us, and nearly exploded. Go vegetation! Its sooo easy too…
First things first, you can either have to tofu fried or not - usually it isn’t in soups, but I prefer it crisped and a bit chewy. Either way, you should press the water out. If you are frying it, I would recommend cutting it into flat rectangles, and if you’re not - cubes.
Heat 600ml to 1000ml water in a big saucepan, depending on how many people, your desired stuff to liquid ratio. Once boiling, turn down the heat to simmering for the remainder of the time. Seasoning is pretty much up to you after the miso, but this is what I used - just chuck stuff in!
- 3 sachets instant miso soup (or the appropriate amount of actual white miso, but who has that in the cupboard really?)
- 1Ts stock powder
- 2Ts soy sauce
- 1-2tsp ground ginger
- 1tsp 5-spice
- some chile powder
- pinch nutmeg
- a shake of paprika for good measure
- black pepper
Fry the pressed tofu in a little oil if you are going to, and sprinkle liberally with stock powder and ground ginger, on a low heat until firm and browned. Add to the soup.
Boil up 150-200g (2 portions) brown rice noodles in a separate pan, and rinse before adding to the main pot, otherwise it will be excessively starchy/gloopy.
Lastly, add chopped vegetables of your own choice - I used
- 2 handfuls whole small brown mushrooms
- half a red bell pepper
- big handful mangetout (green peas in pod)
- 1 thinly sliced carrot
- 1 sliced courgette
Don’t overcook the vegetables - they are far better crunchy.
This recipe is pretty basic, but you could could try messing with different flavours, or adding coconut milk for a variation. Enjoy!
Tofu in Sticky Peanut Sauce. (Serves 3)
Served with mint vegetables and brown rice Udon noodles.
I really fancied peanut sauce, so I just experimented with the ingredients - the spices are a little sporadic, but the outcome was brilliant.
Ingredients:
1 block firm tofu
1Ts heaped, unsweetened peanut butter
1/4 can coconut milk
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
3tsp light soy sauce
half a lime, juiced
2tsp vinegar (preferably rice, but I used red wine)
1/2tsp red thai curry paste
1Ts brown sugar
1tsp ground ginger
1tsp paprika
1tsp chilli flakes
1tsp mild chilli powder
1/2tsp tumeric
3Ts water
1Ts sesame seeds
1Ts sunflower seeds
Method:
1. Drain the tofu and wrap it in several sheets of kitchen roll, then a teatowel. Place a chopping board on top, and balance on anything to weigh it down eg. 4 tins of beans. Leave for 20-30 minutes.
2. In a deep pan, fry the onion and garlic until slightly browned. Turn the heat right down and add all of the other ingredients. Mix until well combined and keep on a low heat, stirring to stop it sticking to the bottom of the pan. The sauce will thicken gradually.
3. When pressed for the desired length of time, remove the tofu and cut into flat squares. Heat some oil in a frying pan (a bit less than a tablespoon) on low heat, then add half off the pieces of tofu. Season with salt and pepper only - the peanut sauce adds plenty of flavour. Make sure the oil is well distributed and leave to for 5 or so minutes, then turn the heat up to medium and cook for 2 minutes until browned. Flip all of the pieces and repeat. When browned on both sides, add to the peanut sauce, with should be bubbling slightly by now. Repeat with the rest of the tofu.
4. Leaving the tofu to marinate in the sauce, prepare the vegetables and noodles, depending on the time taken. I chopped a handful of shitake mushrooms, half a courgette and half a red bell pepper, then panfried them in a tiny amount of oil. I then stirred in a couple of tsp of mint sauce - I find it a brilliant taste combination with the peanut sauce, but then that’s just me.
Serve the vegetables over the noodles, with the tofu and sauce on top. Enjoy!
