This was a quick meal I whipped up one evening after work with whatever I could find in my kitchen. I find stir-fries to be a healthy yet very satisfying meal as you can bulk them up with all sorts of colourful vegetables (rather than just noodles or rice) to make it nutrient-rich.
Poor auld tofu gets a bad rep for being a tasteless food that vegans eat because they have no other choice. I think that when you add strong flavours (ginger, garlic, sesame, seeweed) it tastes fantastic. To me it’s very much comparable to the way people cook meat, they marinade it, they add sauces and flavours to make it less plain. When buying tofu, I tend to go for firm tofu rather than the soft equivalents as I prefer the texture and find it tastes better.
I’ve included sesame oil in the recipe. I remember the first time I saw sesame oil mentioned in a recipe I thought it was an obscure ingredient that I’d buy for a specific recipe and then never use again. It isn’t! It tastes great and you can add it to Japanese-style food, or Middle-Eastern/Greek-style food as well, where sesame seems like a good fit. Sesame oil is inexpensive, and especially when purchased in an Asian supermarket. It produces an incredible aroma when added to food. It’s not an oil that’s used for frying or cooking with however. I find it useful for flavouring a dish once cooked, or for salad dressings.
Tofu & Soba Stir-fry with Live Miso
Print RecipeIngredients
- block of firm tofu (500g), sliced
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil (can substitute sunflower, or other mild-tasting oil)
- 1 bell pepper, sliced
- 3 carrots, sliced
- 1 onion, sliced
- handful dried seaweed
- 1cm-2cm cube fresh ginger
- garlic clove
- 2 tsp miso paste (I used a live one purchased in The Happy Pear)
- Shoyu (or any) soya sauce to taste
- Rice wine vinegar to taste (about 1 tsp)
- Sesame oil
Instructions
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the tofu with the sesame seeds (assuming they’re not already toasted sesame seeds).
Once the tofu starts to brown on both sides slightly, add the pepper, carrot and onion.
Soak the seaweed in water for ten minutes.
Cook the soba noodles as per instructions on the packet.
Crush or finely chop the garlic and ginger.
Dissolve the miso paste in 1/2 cup warm water.
Drain the seaweed (after ten minutes soaking) and add it to the pan, along with the garlic and ginger.
Stir in the miso paste mix before adding soya sauce and rice wine vinegar to your taste.
Drizzle with sesame oil
Notes
I used an Irish seaweed called dilisk from https://www.wildirishseaweeds.com/ (available in Dunnes Stores) but cheaper seaweeds are available in Asian supermarkets.
