Toothy, soft noodles are coated in a thick and velvety sauce for an intensely flavorful and aromatic bite. My Spicy Noodles with Tofu are not for the faint of heart. This dish is bold, pungent and spicy and it’s absolutely fantastic.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!To make this dish, start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add 8 ounces of dried spaghetti to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain the noodles, reserving 2 cups of pasta water. Toss the cooked noodles with one tablespoon of sesame oil and set aside.
While the pasta cooks, drain one 16 ounce block of tofu. Give the block of tofu a little squeeze over the sink to push out some of the liquid, then crumble the tofu over a large frying pan that has been heated with one tablespoon of olive oil. Fry the tofu on high heat for about ten minutes or until the tofu is dry and all water has evaporated. Scrape the tofu into a bowl and set aside.
Using the same frying pan, cook the kale in one tablespoon of sesame oil until tender, about three minutes. Next add ¼ cup of finely chopped roasted seaweed, ½ cup of finely chopped kimchi (I recommend Blue Bus Kraut-Chi), one clove of minced garlic and 2 tablespoons of grated fresh ginger. Stir, cooking for one minute. It’s starting to smell good in your kitchen, isn’t it?!
Pour one cup of pasta water into the pan, then add 3 tablespoons of doenjang paste, 3 tablespoons of peanut butter, 1½ tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, ¼ cup of soy sauce and 3-5 tablespoons of hot chili oil (depending on how hot you like it). Stir to combine. Once the sauce is smooth and bubbly, add in the noodles and tofu and toss to coat. Garnish the dish with ¼ cup of chopped scallions and serve with extra hot chili oil. This recipe feeds four.
Note: hot chili oil is really easy to make at home. Check out this recipe.
Spicy Noodles with Tofu
Ingredients
- 8 ounces spaghetti noodles
- 16 ounces extra firm tofu
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp sesame oil, divided
- 1 cup finely chopped kale
- ¼ cup finely chopped roasted seaweed
- ½ cup kimchi (I recommend Blue Bus Kraut-Chi)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 cup reserved pasta water, plus more if needed
- 3 tbsp doenjang paste
- 3 tbsp peanut butter
- 1½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3-5 tbsp hot chili oil
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving two cups of pasta water. Toss the cooked noodles in one tablespoon of sesame oil. Set aside.
- In a large frying pan, heat up one tablespoon of olive oil. Drain, then crumble a 16 ounce block of extra-firm tofu into the pan and sauté over high heat for about 10 minutes or until dry. Scrape tofu into a bowl and set aside.
- Using the same pan, heat up one tablespoon of sesame oil and sauté the kale until soft, about thee minutes. Next add the seaweed, kimchi, garlic and ginger. Cook for one minute and until very fragrant.
- Next, add one cup of pasta water, the doenjang paste, peanut butter, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce and hot chili oil. Cook, stirring until the sauce is thick and bubbly.
- Add the pasta and tofu to the sauce and toss to coat. Add extra pasta water to the pan, as needed to loosen the sauce if it is too thick. Garnish the noodles with fresh, chopped scallions and enjoy! This recipe serves four.
