I am not really quite sure how to call this sauce. The ingredients included garlic, peppers, cilantro, brown sugar, and lime juice. It was quite yummy though. I bought a sushi kit and finally had time/initiative/ingredients to use it tonight (see post), so I decided to make another asian flavored dish for the main course. As it turned out, this was ready first, so we followed our tofu noodles with sushi, but no one really complained. I liked this recipe though, even though I couldn't make the sauce as recommended with morter and pestle and just used our hand mixer, which didn't seem to work fabulously. I also have yet to find a decent onion at the HIT in like, 6 months. I'm not exagerrating. I had my eye on the recipe for a while, but the HIT has consistently been out of cilantro altogether and good avocados (for the sushi), so the stars were not aligned until tonight for this meal.
12 ounces / 340g dried soba noodles
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus a bit more for the tofu
16 oz / 450g extra-firm tofu, drained and patted dry
3 medium cloves garlic
scant 3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3 small/medium shallots - as mentioned, no onions/similar, so I just skipped this
3 small serrano peppers, minced - I wasn't sure what the Bulgarian equivalent was, so I used jalapenos
1 bunch (about 4 handfuls) of cilantro, stems trimmed
1 teaspoon natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice - I think I used a bit more
3/4 cup / 180 ml extra-virgin olive oil - I definitely used less than this, but I didn't measure
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously, then cook the soba noodles per package instructions, being mindful to not overcook them. Drain, run under cold water for a minute, shake of as much extra water as possible, then toss well with the olive oil. Gently work the olive oil through the noodles. Place the soba in a large plastic bag and refrigerate overnight, or until you're ready to use them - up to a few days. [I left mine plain, no olive oil, and used it about 10 minutes after rinsing.]
Make the dressing using a mortar and pestle OR a food processor. [As mentioned, I used my hand immersion blender, with moderate success, but it was okay.] Pound the garlic and salt into a paste, then work in the shallots one at a time, then the peppers. Then the cilantro a handful at a time. The mixture should be quite smooth. Add the sugar, then the lime juice before stirring in the olive oil a bit at a time. Taste and adjust the flavors if need be - more salt, sugar, lime juice, etc.
Cut the tofu into slabs, rub gently with olive oil and place on a medium-hot grill. Cook until golden brown on one side, flip, and grill the other side as well. [I cooked it in a pan in some olive oil until the sides were a bit browned.]
To assemble, toss the soba noodles with a good amount of the dressing, reserving enough to drizzle generously on top of the tofu. Place the tofu on top of the noodles, and drizzle with more dressing. [I served the noodles plain, added the tofu, the steamed broccoli, and then drizzled the dressing on each dish and let everyone mix their own.]
12 ounces / 340g dried soba noodles
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus a bit more for the tofu
16 oz / 450g extra-firm tofu, drained and patted dry
3 medium cloves garlic
scant 3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3 small/medium shallots - as mentioned, no onions/similar, so I just skipped this
3 small serrano peppers, minced - I wasn't sure what the Bulgarian equivalent was, so I used jalapenos
1 bunch (about 4 handfuls) of cilantro, stems trimmed
1 teaspoon natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice - I think I used a bit more
3/4 cup / 180 ml extra-virgin olive oil - I definitely used less than this, but I didn't measure
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously, then cook the soba noodles per package instructions, being mindful to not overcook them. Drain, run under cold water for a minute, shake of as much extra water as possible, then toss well with the olive oil. Gently work the olive oil through the noodles. Place the soba in a large plastic bag and refrigerate overnight, or until you're ready to use them - up to a few days. [I left mine plain, no olive oil, and used it about 10 minutes after rinsing.]
Make the dressing using a mortar and pestle OR a food processor. [As mentioned, I used my hand immersion blender, with moderate success, but it was okay.] Pound the garlic and salt into a paste, then work in the shallots one at a time, then the peppers. Then the cilantro a handful at a time. The mixture should be quite smooth. Add the sugar, then the lime juice before stirring in the olive oil a bit at a time. Taste and adjust the flavors if need be - more salt, sugar, lime juice, etc.
Cut the tofu into slabs, rub gently with olive oil and place on a medium-hot grill. Cook until golden brown on one side, flip, and grill the other side as well. [I cooked it in a pan in some olive oil until the sides were a bit browned.]
To assemble, toss the soba noodles with a good amount of the dressing, reserving enough to drizzle generously on top of the tofu. Place the tofu on top of the noodles, and drizzle with more dressing. [I served the noodles plain, added the tofu, the steamed broccoli, and then drizzled the dressing on each dish and let everyone mix their own.]
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