Living at the ranch I don’t get to visit my favorite restaurants all that often. Occasionally I attempt to recreate the dishes that I miss which always heightens my appreciation for the inspired chef. I never get the dish quite right, because of the myriad of other details and techniques that a chef combines on a plate are impossible to replicate. Every chef has their signature style.
Sesame Tofu Noodles are Inspired by Chefs
Sesame Tofu Noodles – which is paired with another blog recipe Salsa Macha – was inspired by two of my favorite chef buddies – Ming Qian of Ming’s Thing in San Antonio, and Iliana de la Vega of El Naranjo in Austin. Ming’s Szechuan noodles and Iliana’s Salsa Macha are two of my very favorite restaurant treats. Both chef’s are dear friends, brilliant in their culinary skills, and I miss visiting with them. I hope during this strange stretch of sheltering at home they are doing well.
Maybe pairing salsa macha with cold sesame noodles seems unusual but chiles and chili oil are often served with cold noodles. Salsa macha includes just a bit of sweetness, which pairs beautifully with the nutty sesame flavors.
Understanding the dishes created by other chefs is always inspiring and shifts my flavor palate. I think that is why I like going to restaurants. Sure, not having to wash dishes is dreamy, but experiencing what an artist creates is what keeps me going back. I can’t wait until the world heals and I can go back to my favorite places. There is no place like home, but there is no place like your favorite restaurants either.
Can’t Wait to Visit our Favorite Places Again!
Don’t forget to support the restaurants that are working hard on your to-go orders. And don’t forget to visit your old haunts as often as possible once we get through this time of quarantine. In the meantime, we can all spend a little time dreaming about those pleasant moments of the recent past and recreate them the best we can as we shelter in place.
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Dressing:
1 lb. package soft tofu, water drained (500g)
¼ cup rice wine vinegar (60ml)
¼ cup sesame oil (60ml)
¼ cup soy sauce or tamari (60ml)
Noodles:
16oz of your favorite noodles, boiled, drained & cooled (500g)
2 cucumber, peeled & sliced
2 carrots, peeled & sliced
8 oz. edamame (soy beans) cooked & shelled (125g)
4 scallions, chopped
Cilantro for garnish
Salsa macha or chili oil for garnish
Instructions
To make the dressing, combine the drained tofu, vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce in the container of a blender, and blend until smooth.
To make the Sesame Tofu noodles, place the cooked noodles in a mixing bowl. Pour the dressing over the noodles and toss to combine. Serve each portion topped with slices of cucumber, carrot, edamame, scallions, cilantro and salsa macha (chili oil)
Notes
It is easier to make a full batch of the dressing as tofu usually comes in 1lb (500g) packages. However, you can opt to make a half recipe of the noodles if you only need 4 servings. Use one cup of dressing per 8oz. (250g) uncooked noodles. Simply save the remaining dressing for another meal!
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