Tofu Noodle Stir Fry

Tofu Noodle Stir Fry is a quick and easy veggie packed noodle dish that is better than take out. With crispy tofu, tons of fresh veggies and a slick savory sauce this is a recipe that the whole family will love. Tofu teriyaki noodles tick the crisp vegetables, easy recipe, teriyaki sauce and 'Winner Winner Noodle Dinner' boxes all at the same time!

Recipes like the Soy Sauce Noodles, Chilli Garlic Noodles or Ginger Scallion Noodles are all about vegetarian noodle dishes.

The Pork Mince Noodles, Chicken Yaki Udon and Italian Short Ribs (Braised Beef Ribs) add a variety of proteins to the mix.

🤍 Recipe Highlights

I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the recipe in the points below:

• Simple ingredients: you will be able to get everything you need to make the recipe from your local grocery store including the Chinese cooking wine.
• Versatile: there are many vegetables that perform exceptionally well when they are stir fried. If you have favorite vegetables that you want to work simply sub them in and switch out the ones that you don't want to use.
• Vegetarian: it can be nice to have a night or 2 off meat every now and then and this noodle recipe lets you do that without loosing flavors and textures. It really is the perfect weeknight dinner.
• Back to basics: stir fry recipes require a basic skill level. We are pan frying some tofu, stir frying some veggies adding cooked noodles and pouring a sauce over the top. You will be able to get it cooked and having it tasting good even if you are a novice chef 😉👍.
• Minimal effort: whilst it doesn't take a lot of effort to scroll on the phone and choose what take out you want delivered, it almost takes less effort to whip up this noodle stir fry. There is tracking the delivery guy or gal, no waiting for anyone to knock at the door and no cold noodles! Maximum deliciousness is achieved without dialing in!

🥗 Ingredients

The photo below is to show you everything you need to make these crispy tofu stir fry noodles. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.

As you can see the recipe calls for:

• Peanut oil: this is excellent to use in Asian cooking. It crisps the tofu up perfectly!
• Salt and pepper: we use a little salt and black pepper to season the tofu before we cook it.
• Sesame seeds: these are optional. However they make a great garnish and way to present and serve the dish if you choose to use them.
• Garlic: we use a partnership of garlic and ginger to add a depth of flavor to the stir fry. You can use 2-3 fresh cloves of garlic or chunky minced or chopped garlic.
• Ginger: this is the ingredient we use to compliment the taste and texture of the garlic. These 2 get cooked together and then used to add flavor to the vegetables as we fry them off.
• Green onions: we want to trim the roots and tips off these and then get them a chop into small segments.
• Capsicum (also known by my American friends as red bell pepper): this is a robust vegetable that holds is own and remains crisp when stir fried.
• Mushrooms: I normally use swiss brown mushrooms when I make this recipe. They are a bit firmer than regular white mushrooms and are not as fragile when slicing.
• Tofu: we need to use firm tofu. It will be in the fridge section and it will be labelled 'firm tofu' or 'extra firm tofu'.
• Noodles: instant or ramen noodles without the dried packet of seasoning are a great go to as they cook very quickly.

🍜 Homemade Stir Fry Sauce

Now let's look at the ingredients we need for the homemade stir fry sauce.

• Brown sugar: we have a lot of salty flavors going on in the sauce, so it is great to use a little bit of sugar to balance the sweet and savory.
• Chinese cooking wine: you will be able to get this from most local grocery stores. It will be in the Asian foods section and labelled Chinese cooked wine or Shaoxing Wine.
• Dark Soy Sauce: this is different to regular soy sauce or light soy sauce. It is the 'secret ingredient' we use to get the noodles to turn golden brown!
• Teriyaki sauce: this will be easy to get your hands on also. You will find a variety of teriyaki sauces, some with a thick consistency and some as thin as soy sauce. We one that is towards the thicker range.

Tasty Tip: I like to provide you with a number of substitutions and variations giving you an array of options when making my recipes. If in doubt of any of the above ingredients, or wanting alternatives, read this section (further below) before jumping into the instructions on how to make the recipe which are coming next 😉👌.

🍳 Instructions

Here are the step by step instructions to make the recipe. We start by making the noodle sauce.

• Gather sauce ingredients (Photo 1)
• Whisk to combine (Photo 2)
• Toast sesame seeds (Photo 3)
• Add oil, tofu, salt and pepper to pan (Photo 4)

👩‍🍳 How to Make Tofu Noodle Stir Fry

We want to start by gathering the ingredients to make the stir fry sauce.

Add the teriyaki sauce, Chinese cooking wine, dark soy sauce and soy to a glass jug and whisk to combine then set aside.

Next place a saute pan or large skillet on the stove top, turn the heat to high and add the sesame seeds. Toast these for 2- 3 minutes using a slotted turner to move them around in the pan as you go.

Once the sesame seeds are toasted, remove them from the pan and set aside.

Next pour the peanut oil in to the pan add the tofu pieces, salt and pepper. Cook the tofu for 5-6 minutes, until each piece is browned and crispy on the outside.

Once the tofu is cooked use a slotted turner to lift it up and out of the pan and place it into a paper towel lined bowl.

Then without rinsing or cleaning the pan add the garlic and ginger and fry these for 1 minute.

Next add the snow peas, capsicum, mushrooms and green onions to the pan. Cook these for 3-4 minutes until they have softened and are shiny.

• Add garlic and ginger and fry for 1 minute (Photo 5)
• Then add the vegetables and cook (Photo 6)
• Add the cooked noodles to the vegetables (Photo 7)
• Add the cooked tofu (Photo 8)

Next we want to read and follow the instructions on the packet to cook the noodles. Once cooked use a colander over the sink to drain them and discard the water.

Then add the drained noodles to the sautéed vegetables.

Once done transfer in the crispy pan-fried tofu.

Then take the sauce and pour it over the noodles.

Reduce the heat to medium and use tongs and or chopsticks to toss and combine the noodles, sauce, tofu and veggies.

• Toss to combine (Photo 10)

Once tossed and all mixed together, allow the dish to full heat through and then get your garnish on by sprinkling over the toasted sesame seeds and some sliced green onions if you please 😁👍!

Grab some bowls, chopsticks and tongs to portion and serve.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

If you want to fit in an appetizer try the Air Fryer Spring Rolls they fit the theme very well!

Otherwise you will likely find that this is a meal in one and you won't have room for anything before or after!

Bowls work, chop sticks work. Picking up a piece of crispy tofu just to test it out works 😉👌.

This one comes down to personal preference and how you like to get your noodles on.

👍 How to Guide

How to Store

Store leftovers in a sealed, airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. They need to be reheated before being consumed.

How to Reheat

Add leftover noodles to a bowl and pull a layer of cling wrap over the top. Place them into the microwave and reheat on high for 2-3 minutes.

How to Freeze

This recipe is best cooked and eaten on the day or reheated and eaten.

It is not suitable for freezing.

😉 Substitutions and Variations

Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:

• You can use almost any kind of noodles. Udon noodles, rice noodles, egg noodles, Singapore noodles or your favorite noodles will work for the recipe. Simply cook according to the packet instructions.
• If you want to use regular soy sauce in place of the dark soy sauce, you can however the colour of the dish will be a lot lighter. This is because it is the dark soy sauce that turns the noodles the darker brown colour we see.
• You can switch up the vegetables if you wish too. Try using baby corn, green beans, sugar snap peas, bean sprouts, bok choy, broccoli, broccolini or Asian greens.
• I intentionally only use a small amount of sugar in the sauce. Omitting it completely risks the sauce being too salty. So I advise against doing this to ensure we get the flavor right 😉👍.
• That being said above, if you are looking for a sugar alternative, you can use up to 1 tablespoon of honey.

💡 Tasty Tips

Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:

• Some people like to press the tofu. This involves pressing down on it with a few sheets of paper towels to remove excess water. I personally find that the peanut oil crisps the tofu to perfection, however, if you want to do this, I won't stop you 😉👌!
• When adding the salt and pepper to the pan with the tofu, don't sprinkle it directly over the tofu. Doing so means it usually only sticks to 1-2 pieces. Instead we want to add it to the pan and toss and stir to combine with the oil and all of the tofu pieces when they cook. This distributes it a lot more evenly.
• When pan frying the tofu if you use a slotted spoon you will be able to easily move it around in the dish. However, to ensure each side of the tofu cubes get golden brown, I recommend using kitchen tongs. This way you can piece up each pieces (it is worth it 👌) as they are cooking and turn them to the non browned side so that it will crisp up also.
• After removing the cooked tofu from the pan there is no need to rinse or clean it before adding in the garlic and ginger.
• The garlic and ginger will immediately start cooking when added to the pan (cause it is hot!). We want to fry them before adding the veggies to release their flavor into the pan.
• Read the instructions on the packet to cook the noodles you choose. Some will require boiling on the stove, whereas some will cook simply by pouring hot water over the top and letting them sit for 2 minutes.

🤓 Frequently Asked Questions

Should you boil tofu before frying?

No. I do not recommend boiling tofu before frying it. When we fry it want to use the combination of oil and heat to make the edges crispy. Boiling it adds more water to it which is the opposite of what we want to achieve in aiming for crispy tofu.

Do you need to press tofu before stir frying?

No, it is not necessary to press tofu before stir frying it. Ensure that you are using firm tofu and the oil and heat will turn it crispy.

Do you marinate tofu before or after frying?

It is not necessary to marinate tofu, doing so also reduces its ability to naturally turn golden brown with crisp edges when being fried. Pouring a sauce over the top of the cooked tofu is enough to ensure a delicious flavored tofu dish.

What to season tofu with?

Seasoning tofu with salt and pepper works well before frying it, a process followed when cooking most proteins.

😍 More Easy Dinner Recipes

What a life it would be if we could eat noodles every night of the week! Haha nah we would probably get over that at some point also. Let's do dinner with variety each night to save the 'same same' boredom from setting in. Here, I offer you some non 'same, same' recipes 👌😁.

• White Wine Sauce With Chicken
• Zucchini And Carrot Fritters
• Chicken Yaki Udon
• Chicken Spare Ribs
• Pulled Beef Brisket
• Chicken Corn Noodle Soup
• Fried Cabbage and Bacon

Its time to get our noods on my friend. You can also find all of my homemade takeout recipes in the one spot!

Adrianne

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