Vegetarian mains
Yaki Udon Noodles & Five Spice Pak Choi
Who doesn’t love a bowl of comforting vegetable noodles? This soft udon noodle version is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Marinated tofu is tossed with pak choi in a chilli, ginger, mirin and spiced ketjap manis sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 red onion
- 1 pack marinated tofu
- 1 large or 2 small pak choi
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 piece ginger
- 1 chilli - add to taste
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, or veggie alternative
- 2 tbsp ketjap manis
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 150g pack udon noodles
- 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
Method
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Step 1
Halve, peel and thinly slice the onion.
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Step 2
Slice the tofu into small cubes.
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Step 3
Separate the pak choi leaves - if they’re large, split them lengthways.
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Step 4
Peel and finely grate the garlic and ginger. Slice the chilli into thin rings.
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Step 5
Toast the sesame seeds for a couple of minutes until they are smelling fragrant, then transfer them to a plate.
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Step 6
In a small bowl, mix the mirin, Worcestershire sauce, ketjap manis and ½ tbsp of sesame oil. You can add a pinch or two of sugar too if you like.
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Step 7
Heat 1 tbsp of oil. Gently stir-fry the onion on a medium heat, not too high, for approx. 5 minutes or until softened. Transfer to a plate for a moment.
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Step 8
Meanwhile, boil the udon noodles, until just tender, then drain. Keep the empty saucepan on the hob but off the heat.
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Step 9
Give the wok or frying pan a little wipe. Add 1 tbsp of oil, then heat it again to a high heat and stir-fry the tofu for a couple of minutes, until it starts to crisp. Turn the heat down a little, add the pak choi, fry for a further 2 minutes. Toss in the garlic, ginger and five spice; stir-fry for a couple minutes more - the pak choi stalks will retain a good bite. Stir in the onion.
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Step 10
Quickly add the cooked noodles to the wok or frying pan, with the sauce, and stir-fry to coat the noodles and let everything get a little sticky. Taste and add more ketjap manis to your liking.
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Step 11
Serve the noodles with the tofu and pak choi, drizzle the remaining sesame oil and scatter with sesame seeds and chilli to your taste.