So, this whole schooling thing is proving way more time consuming than I expected. Updating twice a week? Ok, not so far. It’s actually not that the school work is time consuming. It’s that it is so draining the last thing I want to do when I come home is sit down and write about what I just barely managed to dredge up the energy to cook. Because I have been cooking, and some good stuff, too. Like the above: Tofu, udon noodles, fresh vegetables, and peanut sauce, one of my favorite things in the world.
I may have mentioned before that I have a bit of a thing for peanut butter. Like, I eat it almost everyday. This addiction extends to peanuts, peanut sauce, peanut butter cookies, pretty much anything involving the delicious flavor of that lovely legume, Arachis hypogaea. I’ve experimented with a few different peanut sauce recipes and so far the best I’ve found is from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food. It’s pretty thick, and very strongly peanut-y, but with a nice kick to it. I usually pair it with red peppers and udon noodles, and I find it’s just as delicious cold as it is hot. This sauce has definitely become a kitchen staple.
This time around I decided to add in a bit of tofu and some cucumber strips, to get a kind of hot and cold thing going on simultaneously. As it turns out, the cucumber was only a good addition once the noodles were already cold. Live and learn.
Tofu, Noodles, and Peanut Sauce
- 1 T. olive oil
- 1 package of firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 package of udon noodles (you can also use regular old spaghetti, if you feel like it)
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
- 1 small cucumber, cut into strips
- scallions for garnish
Peanut Sauce
- 1/2 c. smooth peanut butter (I use natural peanut butter, which might contribute to the thickness)
- 2 cloves of garlic, smashed
- 1 jalapeno, chopped up (I use pickled jalapeno; if you’re using fresh, remove the seeds and ribs)
- 1/4 c. soy sauce
- 1/4 c. rice wine vinegar
- 1/3 c. warm water
- 2 T. toasted sesame oil
- a bit of salt and pepper
Put a big pot of water on to boil. Udon noodles only take a few minutes to cook, so get started on the tofu and sauce while the water is coming to a boil.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add the tofu. Let it cook for about a minute or two before flipping the pieces over and cooking the other side. Try to brown them on all sides without crumbling them up too much. Once they’ve started to brown, add the red pepper strips to the skillet. Give the pan a stir so the peppers are covered in oil, and leave them alone to cook while you prepare the sauce.
This part is easy: Put everything into a blender and puree until it’s smooth. You might need to chop up the garlic a bit, depending on your blender. Mine often stay whole if I don’t chop them pretty well before throwing them in. Voila: peanut sauce.
Once the peppers have started to soften a bit, you should be able to cook your noodles. They usually take about three minutes. Obviously, if you’re using dried noodles it will take a little longer. Once the noodles are cooked, drain them and add them to the skillet with the tofu and peppers, remove the skillet from the heat, and pour the peanut sauce over the whole thing. Stir it all up well so everything is coated. Then, if you want to experiment, you can add the cucumbers. Or you can hold off on those, and add them the next day when you’re eating the cold leftovers. That is pretty much up to you. You can sprinkle some scallions on top, and if you’re really into peanuts, crush some up and add them for garnish, too.
While this might not have been something I ate growing up, it has become serious comfort food to me over the last few years. So it was great for dinner after my first two days of classes, when I was still battling a stupid cold and starting to realize just how busy I am really going to be. If you’re at all interested in that other part of my life, the libraries and books part, I will, I hope, be updating Words for Nerds on a more regular basis. Of course, that might just be wishful thinking.