Sweet and Spicy Tofu With Soba Noodles

By Sarah Copeland

Updated July 31, 2019

  • David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
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Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(6,453)
Comments
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If you don’t cook tofu often (or even if you do), this unfussy tofu dish is for you: There’s no flour-dredging or shallow-frying, and no marinating at all. As long as you pat the tofu dry (a bit fussy, but not by much), the vegetable oil’s high smoke point will yield crisp edges, while the sesame oil imparts flavor, putting you well on your way to making tofu taste great. What’s more, a ginger-and-garlic-laced soy sauce coats noodles and tofu alike, giving you chopstick after chopstick of toothsome pleasure. Serve these warm or cold, and be generous with the cool, crispy vegetables on top, especially for summer picnics where you can stretch this to serve 6 or even 8 as a side.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1 ½ (14-ounce) packages firm tofu, drained

  • 2 tablespoons canola oil

  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil

  • 1 (8-ounce) package all-buckwheat soba noodles

  • 4 garlic cloves, smashed

  • 1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

  • 1 small bunch green onions, white and green parts separated, cut into 2-inch matchsticks

  • ⅓ cup soy sauce or tamari

  • 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

  • Pinch of red-pepper flakes

  • 4 mini or 1 large, thin-skinned cucumber, thinly sliced

  • 4 radishes, thinly sliced

  • Handful of cilantro leaves, for serving

  • 1 lime, cut in wedges, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

63 grams carbs; 601 calories; 10 grams monosaturated fat; 12 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 28 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 1647 milligrams sodium; 37 grams protein; 9 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Drain the tofu in a colander, or dry on paper-towel lined plate while you prep the remaining ingredients, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to a boil for the soba noodles.

  2. Step 2

    Cut tofu into 1-inch cubes. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil. When the oil shimmers, add the tofu in a single layer, in batches if needed and cook until golden on all sides, turning as needed when the tofu releases easily from the pan, about 8 to 10 minutes total. Lift the tofu out of the pan with a spatula and transfer to a new paper-towel-lined plate.

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile, cook the soba in boiling water for 5 to 8 minutes (or according to package directions), until just al dente, stirring frequently. Drain and rinse in cold water until the noodles no longer feel sticky.

  4. Step 4

    Add garlic, ginger and whites of the onions to the skillet, along with the remaining tablespoon sesame oil, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the oil is fragrant, stirring constantly, about 1 minute.

  5. Step 5

    Add cooked and drained soba noodles to the pan, along with soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, red pepper and reserved green onions; toss together until the noodles are coated. Gently toss in the tofu until all the pieces are covered in the sauce.

  6. Step 6

    Remove from the heat, and sprinkle cucumber, radish and cilantro on top. Serve warm or at room temperature, with lime.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
6,453 user ratings
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Comments

Jenny

Made for the 4th or 5th time last night - my whole family loves this dish. Baked the tofu w cornstarch and panko per another crispy tofu recipe in this site. Cooked the sauce including green onion for about a minute before adding the noodles. Scooped out the “sauced” noodles into bowls then added the tofu to the pan and tossed in leftover sauce. Much easier than trying to toss with the noodles, I’ve found. Adding lime juice to the finished bowls (plus cuke etc) is key to the delicious sauce!

Patty

Use the hack of tossing the tofu w cornstarch and the oils and baking on parchment paper covered cookie sheets at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. It makes the dish even simpler to cook.

Caitlin

If you don't have time to dry/press the tofu, cut into slabs and microwave for 2 minutes. The heat causes the proteins in the tofu to constrict and expel water. Then you can drain and pat dry. I do this whenever I stir fry tofu and it takes much less time.

Mike

Wonderful! Prepared exactly as directed but I made the mistake of using less noodles to reduce carbs, but that made it a bit too salty. Don't make that same mistake!

Elsie

This was pretty plain! kind of just reminded me of spaghetti

Suzy

Great recipe; we loved it. I followed the directions and we had a delicious, eye-catching dish which I'll make again. I use Wildwood Organic tofu which is water drained and pressed and cut time/mess for me. Next time I'll try baking the tofu in the oven per the comments.

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