“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” -Henry David Thoreau
Soba noodles with tofu, avocado and snow peas
This is my first post as a graduate of the University of Connecticut. Commencement ceremonies were
yesterday and after we all went out to dinner at Trumbull Kitchen in Hartford. Lauren and I split the lettuce cups and blue cheese and herb fondue for appetizers and I had one of my dad’s filet mignon appetizer. For my meal I had seared scallops and gnocchi and for dessert I had creme brulee! Yum!
The other day Lauren and I were looking for a light, summery dish. Found this one, which was great because we love Asian-inspired meals.
This recipe calls for:
- 1 (two-inch piece) fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into very thin strips
- 1 serrano or jalapeno chile, seeded and sliced into very thin strips
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (about 3 limes)
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 package (14 ounces) extra-firm tofu, cut into 3/4-inch cubes and patted dry
- 1 package (about 8 ounces) soba noodles
- 4 ounces snow peas, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 English cucumber, peeled, halved crosswise, then sliced lengthwise into thin strips
- 1/4 bunch chives, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, and sliced
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
We didn’t use the chiles because we don’t like hugely spicy foods and we forgot to put in the sesame seeds until we ate the meal for leftovers. Big mistake, apparently, so don’t forget the seeds! We also omitted the chives because you use so little and we don’t have the money to pay for it at this point in our lives.
Anyway, back to the recipe. First we sliced the ginger, which smelled amazing.
Then we cut up the tofu and used a ton of paper towels to soak water out of it (thanks Lynsey for that tip!).
To make the syrup, boil water, sugar and ginger (and chile if you’re using it) and then reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the ginger is tender. About five minutes.
Strain the ginger out of the syrup mix use two tablespoons of the syrup with lime juice, soy sauce and tofu.
Cut up the rest of the veggies.
Mix the peas and cucumber in with the cooked soba noodles.
Garnish with reserved ginger and avocado. Yum!
P.S. This is also where you would add the sesame seeds.
