Diet: Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Pescatarian, Vegetarian
Serves: 2
Total Time: 25 minutes

Description

Absolutely packed full of flavour, this Asian inspired dish is full of wholesome nutrition, from leafy greens to protein-packed tofu and instead of traditional rice noodles we’ve used protein and fibre rich buckwheat noodles.

Buckwheat noodles have been shown to be associated with improved metabolic health (Pugligundla et al. 2021) and they make a perfect nutritious replacement for those who are gluten-free.

Ingredients

• 140g buckwheat noodles
• 350g firm tofu
• 1 bunch pak choi or british baby leaf greens (aka Spring Greens), washed
• 3 tbsp tamari
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 clove grated garlic
• 3 tsp coconut oil
• 1 red chilli, sliced (optional)

Method

1. Boil the noodles according to the pack instructions. Drain in a sieve and rinse off the starch, stirring through to avoid them clumping together. Allow to cool.
2. Meanwhile, add the tamari, mirin, ginger, garlic, honey and sesame oil into a small saucepan with a splash of water. Bring to a simmer and cook for around 4-5 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat.
3. Slice your tofu into slices (this should be enough for about 4 or 5 individual slices).
4. Heat a large pan or griddle pan over a high heat and add 1 tsp of the coconut oil. Once hot, add the pak choi or greens and cook for 5 minutes, until slightly brown and softened through. Remove from heat and set aside in a bowl.
5. Now, in the same pan, add 2 tsps of coconut oil and bring back to a high heat. Once hot, add the tofu slices and fry for 4 minutes on each side.
6. Whilst your tofu is cooking, add your noodles into a large bowl and mix 3/4 of the tamari sauce mixture, stirring through the noodles.
7. Divide the noodles between two plates. Top with the slices of tofu and greens, and the final 1/4 of tamari sauce mixture, and your sliced chilli (if using).

 

References:

Puligundla, P. Lim, S. (2021) ‘Buckwheat noodles: processing and quality enhancement’, FoodSci Biotechnol, pp.1471-1480 [Online].