Pan-fried tofu tossed with rice noodles in a savoury-sweet gochujang sauce, finished with a touch of chilli oil. Ready in 30 minutes, naturally vegan and gluten-free.
Equipment
- Kettle or pot
- Heatproof mixing bowl
- Frying pan or wok
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients
Rice noodles
- 200g rice noodles
- 500ml boiling water
Pan Fried Tofu
- 350g firm tofu
- 2 tbsp canola oil
Sauce
- 3 tbsp tamari soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp chilli oil
- 6 tbsp water
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1½ tbsp gochujang
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 4 scallions (sliced)
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to the boil, then remove it from the heat. Pour the boiling water over the rice noodles in a heatproof bowl (or add the noodles to the pot off the heat). Let them soak, stirring occasionally, until al dente, this usually takes 5 to 10 minutes, but check your package instructions for exact timing. Once soft, drain them, but skip the cold water rinse.
- In a bowl, whisk together the tamari soy sauce, sesame oil, chilli oil, water, sugar, gochujang, minced garlic, scallions and sesame seeds. Set this aside while you prep the tofu.
- Drain and pat the tofu really dry, then slice it into smaller cubes. Getting as much moisture off as possible here is the key to a proper golden crust.
- Heat the canola oil in a pan over low-medium heat. Fry the tofu on all sides until golden and crisp, this takes a little patience, so don’t rush it or turn the heat up too high, a slower fry gives a better crust.
- Pour half of the prepared sauce over the tofu in the pan, coating each piece evenly. Let it simmer gently for a few minutes so the tofu really absorbs the flavour. Once it’s glossy and well coated, remove the tofu to a plate, leaving any remaining sauce behind in the pan.
- Add the drained noodles to the same pan along with the remainder of the sauce. Toss gently over low heat for a minute or two, giving them real contact time with the sauce so they absorb flavour. Be careful not to stir these noodles too much as rice noodles tend to break easily.
- Return the tofu to the pan, or plate the noodles first and top with the tofu.
- Sprinkle over extra scallions and a few more sesame seeds. Finish with a little more chilli oil for that extra heat and enjoy.
Notes
- Don't rinse the noodles after soaking. Rinsing strips the starch that lets the sauce cling.
- Reserve sauce specifically for the noodles. If it all goes on the tofu, the noodles end up bland no matter how good the sauce is.
- Pull the tofu out before the noodles go in. Tossing noodles in the same pan as the tofu breaks it apart and softens the crust.
- Best eaten fresh. Reheats fine in short bursts in the microwave, but rice noodles firm up a little the next day.