Hey There! Look at this! I just found and bought an interesting package of Ramen noodles from, of all places, Costco. Check it out. Noodles made from rice and millet … gluten-free and actually good for you and no accompanying sachet of MSG!
As soon as I got home from the store, I had to make something with them. Soup, of course! Isn’t that what Ramen noodles were made for? Eaten with a spoon AND fork!
For this yummy bowl of goodness, I cooked the noodles up in some veg broth, then stirred in some chopped up leftover roasted vegetables I had on hand and the last of the grape tomatoes. I also added in some chopped green onions.
A week or so later, I had some marinated, baked tofu kicking around (I had planned on using it in some delicious sandwiches which I will tell you more about in another post, but I absent mindedly cut the tofu into cubes instead of slabs). And those noodles called my name again so I decided to make a tofu-noodle-roast-vegetable salad.
Here’s what I did:
3 “cakes” Ramen noodles
1 recipe of marinated baked tofu cubes
Dressing:
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 cup tamari sauce (or coconut soy-free seasoning sauce or Bragg All Purpose Liquid Soy Seasoning or a combination)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tbsp. agave nectar
juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 tsp chili flakes
Roasted Veg:
2 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 green cabbage, cut into wedges
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1 inch pieces
handful of shitake mushrooms, sliced in half
2 or 3 green onions, diced
handful of peanuts, chopped
Cook the Ramen noodles, in water or in broth. Drain, rinse with cold water, drain and set aside.
Stir all the dressing ingredients together and set aside.
Throw the chopped vegetables – carrots, pepper, cabbage, zuke – into a large bowl. Drizzle in a small amount of cooking oil. Toss the veg in the oil until lightly coated in oil. Arrange the vegetables in a roasting pan and roast the veg in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes then add the mushrooms and toss a bit with the other vegetables. Roast for another 10 minutes or so until vegetables are tender, but still juicy. Pull the pan out of the oven and let vegetables cool for a bit. Transfer the vegetables to a cutting board and coarsely chop. Toss the vegetables with the Ramen noodles (you may have to give the noodles another rinse and drain just before adding the vegetables). Add the tofu cubes and toss again. Pour in the dressing and toss one more time. That’s a lot of tossing, but as long as you do it gently, all will be well and the generous tossing allows you to get those noodles separated and spread out and mixed in with the other salad ingredients.
Serve topped with green onion and chopped peanuts. Yum!
Mostly Vegan 