Spicy Kung Pao Style Chinese Noodles and Tofu Stir Fry

 The smell of good food always make me hungry, especially of something like a stir fry from an Asian restaurant or the Indian-Chinese street food.  It is not easy to get that unique flavor of a restaurant style stir fry at home unless you have the professional tools for it like a large wok and gas stove with high flame. I recently tried a Black pepper tofu recipe from the wonderful cookbook Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. It was so good that I wanted to have more of those flavors. So I decided to make this noodle and vegetable dish by incorporating some of the flavors from that. I made it Kung Pao style which is usually a spicy stir fry with chilies and peanuts and bit of sweetness in it. Stir fry does need a little preparation and the cooking has to be done fast. The vegetables have to be chopped and kept ready, the noodles boiled and the spices and different sauces mixed and kept ready. I enjoyed making and eating this delicious and healthier Chinese take out at home.

Ingredients


4 blocks of medium firm tofu (19oz box)
1 fistful spaghetti
4 tablespoons stir fry sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 -2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce
2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
sesame oil for cooking
cornflour for coating the tofu
1 cup broccoli florets
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
4-5 green onion
1 small red onion
black pepper
crushed red pepper
dry red chillies
10 medium garlic cloves finely chopped
2"ginger finely chopped
handful of broken cashews or roasted peanuts
salt to taste

Method

Preparation

1. Break the broccoli florets and wash them
2. Drop the florets in boiling water for about a minute and transfer to ice cold water to retain the color. Drain and keep aside
3. Boil the noodles. Drain and add a little sesame oil.
4. Dice the red and green bell peppers
5. Drain the tofu blocks
6. Cube the tofu and toss in cornflour
7. Finely chop the garlic and ginger
8. Mix the stir fry sauce, sriracha, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce and salt in a bowl 

Heat sesame oil in a non stick pan and slide the cornflour coated tofu cubes in it. Shallow fry till the tofu is golden brown on all sides. Drain on a paper towel. Add more oil if needed in the same pan and add thinly sliced red onions or shallots and cook till light brown. Now add the chopped ginger, garlic, cashews and dry red chilies. Cook for a minute and add sauce mix. Let it come to a boil and add the water and mix it well. Now mix in the fried tofu and the noodles. Finally add  the steamed broccoli and the diced peppers. Remove from heat and season with a lot of black pepper  and chopped spring onions. Serve hot.