Ingredients (use vegan versions):
- 1 bag Japanese soba noodles
- 1 block regular tofu, firm drained and pressed
- 5- 10 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 carrot, peeled
- 1 beet, peeled
- 1 bunch spinach well washed and trimmed
- juice from 1 lemon
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 bunch cilantro, well washed and trimmed
- handful roasted peanuts
- olive oil (at least 1/2 cup, maybe more)
- Seasoned rice vinegar (at least 1/8 cup. maybe more)
Directions:
A beautiful, easy to prepare dish!
First, cut into desired shapes and marinate the
pressed tofu overnight in:
6 crushed garlic cloves, apple cider vinegar and
salt to taste.
**See the Best Sunday Stroganoff recipe on this
website for more tofu marinade tips and ideas**
Fry the marinated tofu over medium heat in about 5
TBS of olive oil. Let it fry on each side for at
least 5 minutes to get a nice golden crust. When
done, remove and drain on a paper towel.
Meanwhile: shred the carrot and beet using the
largest holes on a box cheese grater. it's best to
rinse the grater in between the veggies so as not
to transfer any colors or flavors.
Next, make the sauce: put stemmed cilantro,
chopped green onion, peanuts, rice vinegar, and
olive oil in a food processor and whirl on high
until everything is blended. Check for taste and
adjust seasonings as desired. You can easily
control the consistency of the sauce by adding
more or less oil.
Now boil the noodles according to package
instructions.
While the noodles boil: prepare the spinach by
adding 3 or more cloves crushed garlic, a dash of
olive oil and lemon juice to a large pot and
heating. Then add the spinach, cover and cook
over high heat for about 3 minutes (just enough to
wilt the spinach and retain its fresh color- too
long and you'll wind up with the yucky brown
spinach, much feared in childhood).
Now assemble the Ingredients (use vegan versions): First, layer the
fried tofu along one side and the bottom a medium
sized bowl. Pile in the spinach to cover the
bottom of the bowl and over some of the tofu. Now
make a mound of carrots and another of beets off
to one side of the bowl. Now fill in the rest
with noodles. Top with the bright green cilantro
sauce and sprinkle with toasted sesame or flax seed
or chopped peanuts.
Lovely enough to serve on Mother's Day, but
filling enough to satisfy even the most hearty
appetite.
Serves: 2
Preparation time: 30 mins
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