Meatless Monday: Soba Noodles with Baked Tofu and Ponzu Sauce

Ah, the post-vacation reality check. I was pretty tired when I finally arrived at my apartment at midnight last night. I didn't even unpack most of my stuff and when I got off the Metro this morning the first thing I realized was that I'd left my work ID and office keys at home. Happy Monday!

I had an awesome time in Miami and I promise I will post some pictures of the fantastic food adventures we had (spoiler: I got that pressed Cuban).

But first, it's Monday, which means...new vegetarian recipe! Tonight I tried cooking with ponzu and soba noodles for the first time. Soba noodles are a Japanese buckwheat noodle, similar in shape to a thin spaghetti, but with a slightly stickier texture (and a way awesomer flavor). There are different varieties of soba, which, unfortunately I can't tell you much about, since this is my first time using them. I used a kind with wild yam flour and they were fantastic. Ponzu is a deliciously tangy Japanese citrus sauce.

I hadn't heard of ponzu until I ran across this recipe for a cold soba noodle salad with ponzu sauce on Serious Eats.  It looked pretty tasty in the picture, so I figured I'd give it a try. The original recipe didn't really call for any protein, so I figured I'd add some marinated baked tofu. Since the package of soba that I purchased was smaller than the amount called for in the recipe, I thought I'd stretch it by adding a couple of cups of mung bean sprouts, but alas, when I opened them tonight they'd gone south. The recipe yielded 4 hearty servings though, so no harm done.

Before I realized the bean sprouts were bad :(

But all these yummy things still went in.

The recipe itself was very easy. The only change I made was adding the tofu (recipe below) and substituting crushed red pepper for togarashi (not entirely sure what that is, but it said it was optional and added heat, so I figured I'd use what I already had in the cupboard). The tofu took a while because I pressed it, then marinated it and then baked it, but the noodle part only took about 20 minutes. And, since it can be served cold, this is a good recipe to make ahead for an easy weeknight supper. We'll be enjoying it again tomorrow.

The tofu and its dressing, deconstructed.

Soaking up the goodness.

Baked.

The verdict on taste: amazing! I put sriracha in my tofu marinade and topped the noodles with crushed red pepper flakes. The combo of the ponzu, marinade and spice was really fantastic. MG and I both agreed this would have to go in the recipe book I keep so that I can make it again. It's also a pretty inexpensive meal - although the soba noodles are more expensive than spaghetti noodles, the rest of the ingredients are either pantry items (if you make a lot of Asian food), tofu, and just a couple of fresh veggies.

 

With and without the baked tofu.

Another successful Meatless Monday in the books!

Spicy Baked Tofu

1 package extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into 1" cubes
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp Sriracha (or to taste)
1 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

Preheat oven to 350F.

Whisk together the soy sauce, Sriracha and teriyaki sauce. Add sesame oil slowly, while whisking. Place the tofu in a glass baking dish, pour on marinade, and toss to coat evenly. Allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally so all the tofu is coated.

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread the tofu out evenly. Bake for 15 minutes, flip the tofu and bake for another 15 minutes. Enjoy with soba noodles, or just by itself.

Meatless Monday: Adventures in Tofu

Yes, in a bout of complete non-originality, MG and I have joined the Meatless Monday bandwagon.* Or, I guess I should say, we officially joined the bandwagon, because we've been accidentally having Meatless Random Days of the Week for a while now. I honestly can't tell you how that began - I think it probably stems from last summer, when we started getting produce delivered and were suddenly confronted with having to consume a ridiculous amount of veggies in a pretty short period of time. This forced inspired us to research some new recipes, and that, compounded with our efforts to not buy meat unless it's on sale, led to quite a few days without any meat on the menu.

Recently, however, I read several articles about the impact that going meat-free for one day a week can have on the environment. So, we decided that we'd do what we'd more or less been doing, and just be a little more consistent and deliberate about it. I mean, it's cost-saving, healthier and environmentally-friendly. Plus, it's just so alliterative!

So, today marked our first official Meatless** Monday (tomorrow will be Meatless Tuesday by default, since I'm having the same things to eat).

Today's menu consisted of a fantastic beet, walnut and goat cheese salad for lunch, and Spicy Eggplant and Tofu for dinner. The eggplant dish was especially fun to make because I got to use some green peppers and fairytale eggplants from our balcony garden, and because it was the first time I cooked with tofu and miso paste.

From our balcony garden!

The component parts.

Also from the balcony garden! This never stops being amazing to me.

Where the protein comes from.

Marinating away.

So THAT'S what miso paste looks like. Things I didn't know before last night.

The marinade was a mixture of miso paste, teriyaki, soy sauce, Szechuan sauce, pineapple juice, ginger and garlic.  The flavors were fantastic, although I definitely ended up adding more Szechuan sauce than the original recipe called for - it was more "warm" than spicy. (We also had our good old Sriracha at the table).  Next time I might add some crushed red pepper flakes, as well. Otherwise, the only thing I would do differently is press the tofu (the Internet said you didn't have to if it was firm!) But it was a little softer than I'd like.  I loved the way this turned out, and since eggplant is one of my top three favorite summer vegetables, I'll definitely be making this one again.

The finished product!

Hope you enjoy this for Meatless Monday or any day of the week!

Spicy Roasted Eggplant and Tofu with Sesame and Honey

Adapted from The Whole Foods Market Cookbook

Serves 4

2 medium eggplants (or 6 small eggplants), cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 4 cups)

1 lb firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch cubes

3 tbsp white or red miso paste (I used white)

1/8 cup tamari or soy sauce (I used soy sauce)

1/4 cup water

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/8 cup grated fresh ginger (about a 2-inch piece)

1 cup canned pineapple juice

1/8 cup teriyaki sauce

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

1/4 cup white sesame seeds

1/4 cup cider vinegar

3 tbsp honey

1 tsp Szechuan sauce (or to taste)

3/4 tsp salt (or to taste)

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 large red or green bell pepper (or 3 baby ones from your garden!), seeded and diced

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Preheat oven to 450F.

For the marinade:

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, water, garlic, ginger, pineapple juice, teriyaki sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, cider vinegar, honey and Szechuan sauce. Whisk in the miso paste until blended.

For the eggplant and tofu:

In a large mixing bowl, toss the eggplant and tofu with 1 and 1/4 cups of the miso marinade, salt and pepper.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggplant and tofu to two nonstick baking sheets. Reserve the excess marinade. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the eggplant and tofu are browned, but the eggplant is still somewhat firm. Allow the eggplant and tofu to cool on the pan for about 10 minutes, then add it back into the large bowl with the excess marinade, bell pepper and cilantro, if using. Mix well. 

Serve with steamed white or brown rice, and the additional marinade as sauce (and, if you like things on the spicier side, Sriracha or your hot sauce of choice).

 *Fun fact! According to Wikipedia, the FDA coined the term "Meatless Monday" during World War I in an effort to reduce consumption of certain foods to aid the war effort.  So, apparently the bandwagon originally looked like this:

Photo credit: Early Cars by Michael Sedgewick via Old Woodies

**For now, this means meat and meat products (like broth, stock and lard). Although some people are going egg/dairy-free too, we aren't there yet, and may not ever be. I definitely had my yogurt this afternoon.

For more reading on Meatless Monday, check out these articles:
More Weight on Less Meat by Mark Bittman (NY Times.com)
The Meat Eater's Guide to Climate Change and Health via Climate Change: 3 Proteins with a Big Carbon Footprint (TheKitchn)