- 190g marinated tofu
- 1 tsp China 5 spice
- 2 bundles of Thai brown rice noodles
- 2 tbsp tamari
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 40g tahini
- 200g white mushrooms
- 1 spring onion
- 100g spinach
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½-1 jalapeño chilli
- 1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns
- 1 tbsp olive, sunflower or coconut oil
- 1.
Fill your kettle and put it on to boil. Drain the tofu, dice it into bite-sized chunks and then pop it in a small bowl. Add 1 tsp China 5 spice to the bowl and toss the tofu to coat it in the spice. Set aside.
- 2.
Place the noodles in a large dish or bowl and pour in enough boiling water to completely cover the noodles. You may need to boil a second kettle of water to make sure the noodles are covered. Leave them to soak for 5-10 mins. This softens the noodles without making them too sticky. Check them after 5 mins, and if they are still a little chalky in the middle, leave them for another 3-4 mins.
- 3.
While the noodles soak, pour 2 tbsp tamari into a small bowl (keep the rest for later). Add 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar and the tahini and whisk with a fork to mix together, trying to break up any larger lumps of tahini (it will melt in the pan, so don't worry too much if it stays lumpy). Set aside.
- 4.
Slice the white mushrooms. Trim the roots and any ragged tops off the spring onion then finely slice it. Trim the dry ends off the spinach stalks, then finely slice the leaves and stalks. Check the noodles and drain them, if they're ready.
- 5.
Put a large wok or deep frying pan on a high heat. Add ½ tbsp oil to the wok and tip in the tofu. Fry for 5 mins, turning a few times, till the tofu is crisp.
- 6.
While the tofu fries, peel and finely chop the garlic. Halve the chilli, scoop out the seeds and white pith and finely chop it (jalapeño chillies are very spicy, so only use half the chilli if you don't want too much chilli heat).
- 7.
Scoop the tofu out of the wok and set aside in the bowl. Add another ½ tbsp oil to the wok and drop in the garlic, chilli and 1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns. Sizzle, stirring, for 30 secs (this will release lots of spicy oils, so put your extractor fan on if you have one, or open the kitchen window).
- 8.
Add the mushrooms, spring onion and spinach stalks to the wok. Stir-fry for 3-4 mins till just starting to soften and look glossy. Add the tofu back to the pan and stir in the spinach leaves. Stir-fry for another 2 mins till the leaves wilt.
- 9.
Pour in the sauce and stir to mix. Bubble for 1 min, then add the noodles. Toss everything together to mix well. Taste and add more tamari if you think it needs it. Scoop the noodles and veg into 2 warm bowls and serve.