4 servings (note: this is very filling even though the volume of food is not that big)
- Sauce:
- 1 cup raw cashews (assuming unsalted, if you have salted cashews you may need to reduce the salt in the sauce)
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp miso paste
- 1 tsp grapeseed oil (or another neutral oil like non-toasted sesame oil or peanut oil)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- Tofu:
- 1 block (14 oz) extra-firm tofu (can also use firm but you will need to press it for longer)
- 2 tbsp grapeseed oil (or another neutral oil like non-toasted sesame oil or peanut oil)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Everything else:
- 12 oz stir fry rice noodles
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- sesame seeds (for shaking on top)
- 2 green onions, white and green parts (about 1/4 cup thinly sliced)
First, we need to start some long-running things. Place the cashews and water into a blender and allow them to soak for 15 min or so. Place the tofu block in a tofu press and press out water for ~10 min. If you don't have a tofu press, no problem, just put the tofu on a plate, cover the top with a paper towel, and stack some books or another heavy object on top. Begin boiling a pot of water for the rice noodles.
Now it's time to prep. Slice the green onions into ~4mm pieces. Peel the garlic cloves. Slice the tofu block into ~15mm cubes.
Once the water is boiling, cook the rice noodles according to the package directions. When they are finished cooking and at a good level of firmness, dump them into a colander and rinse with cold water. Then, coat with the toasted sesame oil and transfer back into the pot. The heat can be off for now.
Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Add all sauce ingredients into the blender and blend them thoroughly. To avoid coating the entire blender with cashew chunks, you may want to start on the lowest speed, then gradually increase to medium or high once the large chunks are broken up. You may also need to add an additional 1/4 cup or so of water if the mixture is not flowing well. Blend for several minutes, until the sauce has no visible cashew pieces left and tastes creamy.
While the noodles and sauce are going (or after they're done), you can stir-fry the tofu. Heat a frying pan or wok over medium-high heat and add in the grapeseed oil, giving it a few minutes to come up to temperature. Then, add the tofu, making sure to spread it evenly around the pan. On top of the tofu, sprinkle a pinch or two of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Then, add in the cornstarch, making sure to sprinkle it evenly around the pan and not just dump it in one place (you don't want to make fried cornstarch!). Then, mix thoroughly until all the tofu is coated in oil and starch, and there're no large clumps of white cornstarch left.
Now that we have everything in the pan, to fry up the tofu nice and crispy, repeat the following process 3-4 times:
- Make sure that the tofu is spread evenly around the pan such that almost all cubes have one side in contact with the pan.
- Set a timer for 2 minutes 30 seconds.
- Leave the tofu alone until the timer expires. I mean it, don't even think about messing with it. If you don't leave it alone long enough, it won't get crispy.
- When the timer goes off, stir up the tofu thoroughly so that a different side of most cubes is in contact with the pan. Note: The sides that were being fried should be visibly brown and crispy; if they aren't you may need to turn up the heat or fry them for longer each iteration.
When you finish, each tofu cube should be deliciously crispy on 2-3 sides. Just try to not eat any out of the pan, I dare you.
Finally, once all the previous steps are complete, add the tofu and sauce into the pot with the noodles and mix everything together with tongs. Turn the heat up to medium-low and heat through for 5 min or so, until everything is hot.
To serve, transfer the noodles and tofu to a bowl, then top with green onions and sesame seeds.