Today is the first day of Spring 2018. And honestly it does not even remotely resemble spring outside. It was 20 degrees when I left the house this morning and we’re supposed to get our fourth Nor’Easter tomorrow night into Thursday morning, bringing an expected 10 inches of snow to Boston. Boy, am I ready for Spring…like actual Spring…none of this fake “winter” spring.
To get myself into the spring mood, I decided to make a cold Carrot Ginger Soba Noodle Bowl with some tastes of spring like carrot, edamame, and mint.
This dish is perfect for just about anyone who likes yummy nutritious food. It is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free. Just about the healthiest dish ever. It is so nourishing and good for you, that your body may just scream of joy after you’re finished inhaling it.
The savory ginger, soy sauce, and sesame seeds perfectly balance out the flavors of fresh carrot, mint and edamame. Topped with the ever-so-delicious fried tofu. My new favorite way to eat tofu.
To be honest, tofu used to kinda creep me out. When I attempted to saute it, it came out too wet and crumbly and the texture reminded me of cottage cheese. BUT alas, I have discovered a new technique that will actually enable you to fry it to be crispy, golden goodness. The trick? Pressing the water out of the tofu. I let it sit with in a paper towel over a baking pan and put a few heavy objects on top to weight it down. I let it sit for a couple hours until the water was mostly pressed out. And voila, there you have tofu that is ready to be crisped.
My favorite part of this dish (besides the tofu) is the ginger soy dressing. It’s honestly such a simple dressing that can go on anything. ANYTHING. Like put that dressing on any salad, noodles, chicken, fish, sautéed veggies…you name it. It’s the one stop shop of dressings. So do yourself a favor, and when making this recipe, just make double (okay, quadruple) of the sauce and you can thank me later.
Cheers to a healthy, delicious meal. Enjoy the recipe below!
Carrot Ginger Soba Noodle Bowl
Ingredients
Soba Noodle Bowl
- 14 Ounce Package of Extra Firm Tofu
- 2-3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 9.5 Ounce Pack of Soba Noodles Uncooked
- 5-6 Carrots Spiralized
- 3/4 cup Edamame peeled and cooked
- 1/3 cup Mint Leaves Julienned
- 2 Tablespoons Sesame Seeds
Ginger Soy Dressing
- 4 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 4 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
- 1/2 cup Olive Oil
- 2 Teaspoons Sesame Oil
- 2 Inches Ginger peeled and finely minced
- 2-3 Garlic Cloves finely minced
Instructions
Soba Noodle Bowl
- Open up the package of tofu and drain all the water out
- Wrap the block of tofu in a paper towel and place on a baking sheet
- Cover with heavy objects like a heavy bowl, cutting board, or books (the more weight the better the tofu will be)
- Leave to press out the moisture for at least 30 minutes (at most, 24 hours overnight)
- While you are pressing the tofu, heat a large pot of water to boil and cook the soba noodles according to the package
- While the soba noodles are cooking, spiralize your carrots
- Once the soba noodles are done, let cool in the refrigerator for about 5-10 minutes
- While the soba noodles are cooling the refrigerator, heat the olive oil in a medium skillet
- Sautee the tofu on medium high heat until crispy and golden brown on both sides
- Once the noodles are cool, toss in a big bowl with the spiralized carrots, edamame, mint, sesame seeds, and crispy tofu
- Top with Ginger Soy Dressing
- Serve and Enjoy
Ginger Soy Dressing
- Mix all ingredients into a bowl
- Drizzle over the Carrot Ginger Soba Noodles
- Serve and enjoy!
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