Are you picking up on my obsession with Asian food yet? I find it so vegetarian/vegan friendly, and always delicious. When we eat out, I love to order noodles: Fire Noodles on Thai Thursday, Lo Mein at Chinese restaurants, Udon when we eat Japanese. You get the picture. I have, however, never cooked with rice noodles at home. So last night, I asked the BF if he was feeling adventurous, and he was…
Rice Noodle Noodle Stir Fry (serves 2 generously)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 3 cherry bombs, minced
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1/2 yellow squash, diced
- 1 crown broccoli
- 1 cup kale, stems removed
- 4 oz brown rice noodles
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- 3 oz tofu, in half inch cubes
I am quite particular about fried tofu. I think it should be a beautiful golden brown color, perfectly crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. Because of this, I pan fried the tofu before beginning the stir fry. To do this, heat the olive oil in the wok on high heat. Add the tofu and toss periodically until golden brown. This will take about 5 – 7 minutes. I separated my tofu into 3 batches to alleviate overcrowding in the pan. 
Next, I prepared the brown rice noodles. The package said to use water, but I was looking for flavor in my noodles, so I warmed 1 quart of vegetable broth to a soft boil and then added the noodles. I did not boil the noodles because I was also planning to stir fry them. Instead I turned the burner off and let them soak in the warm broth for 10 minutes.
I did not throw out the oil I used for pan frying the tofu, instead I kept it warm to use in my stir fry. First, add the soy sauce, red pepper flakes and black pepper and bring to medium high heat. Add the cherry bombs, onion and garlic; cook until fragrant. Then add the yellow squash and broccoli and cook until crisp tender. Add the kale and cook until wilted. Finally, add the pan fried tofu and the rice noodles. Toss together until evenly mixed and coated in stir fry sauce. You could add a bit of the vegetable broth if the noodle stir fry is too dry or too spicy for your liking.
This recipe was a bit milder than I was expecting; on a scale of 1 -4 (4 being the spiciest), I’d call this one a 2. For a spicier version, add more red pepper flakes or cherry bombs. Overall, I’d call it a success!
PS – we had leftovers, but weren’t particularly hungry because I brought Sweet Martha’s Cookies home from the State Fair….
