Slithery Noodles
Slithery noodles with mushrooms, ginger, garlic and smoked tofu are silkily delicious. It’s really important to use fat udon noodles and either shitake mushrooms, which are strong on flavour, or good meaty chestnut mushrooms. Ordinary noodles and ordinary mushrooms make for an ordinary dish.
The world has so many delicious noodle dishes to offer using a core mix of classical flavours. My Slithery Noodles are a simple version of flavourings to be found in many kitchen cupboards, but wow, they pack a flavour bomb. I defy you not to love them.
For non tofu enthusiasts, I defy you not to like the tofu as it’s cooked in this dish. First off, smoked tofu comes with a good flavour. It is not bland squidgy white stuff but firm and (obviously) smoky. Added to the rest of the flavours here, it brings texture, and it’s a nutrition explosion. Tofu for vegans is one of the only sources of complete protein in one package and is an important ingredient in a vegan diet.
A final word, be careful how salty your soy sauce is. One day I made this with normal soy sauce, and the salt level was really too much. And I’d been so looking forward to a warming flavourful quick supper. Since then, I’ve been using the low salt variety.
With no more ado, here’s how.
Ingredients
Serves 2 generous helpings
6tbs soy or tamari sauce
2tbs @Clearspring umami paste with chilli/optional
2 handfuls of spinach/optional
Coriander, torn or finely chopped to garnish
250g udon noodles,
200g smoked tofu, cut into 1cm cubes (I use @taifun)
3tbs cornflour
Avocado or coconut oil for frying
250g fresh shitake or chestnut mushrooms, stalks removed and torn in half if large
1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped into small pieces
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
Method
Put some cornflour in a plastic bag or on a plate, tip in the tofu pieces and turn or shake them gently in the cornflour so they are just coated - you don’t want them to look like a snowman.
Heat some oil in a large frying with deep sides and add the tofu in a single layer in batches if necessary. Cook until the tofu is gently browned and slightly crispy, then remove and put to one side.
If the frying pan is looking too flour-y wipe it out. Add more oil and cook the shitake mushrooms and ginger again in a single layer, for about 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms have begun to shrink.
Add the garlic and cook gently for another minute.
Add the soy sauce, the umami paste if using, and stir to incorporate all the ingredients.
Add the tofu and stir again; switch off the heat or keep on very low.
Cook the udon noodles in plenty of gently boiling water - about 5-12 minutes for dried noodles (see packet), 2-3 minutes for fresh ones. Udon noodles are fat so be sure they are cooked right through to the middle.
Heat through your mushroom mix if it’s gone cold. Add the spinach; if you are using it, torn up and cook through until it’s wilted for about 2 minutes.
Using long tongs, transfer your noodles from the saucepan to the frying pan of mushrooms. With the tongs, gently mix the noodles and the sauce so that every bit of noodle gets a good coating.
Serve in bowls with a good scattering of coriander on top.
