EASY PEASY STIR FRY NOODLES

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Let’s be honest: sometimes one just can’t be bothered to cook up a storm in the kitchen let alone prepare something that needs ages before you eventually get to eat it. Sometimes it just needs to go quick, be easy and taste YUMMY. Be it after a long day at work or just out of pure comfort, this super simple stir fry is perfect for any lazy occasion: super simple and fast but still super DELICIOUS!

Plus, it also is a great starter dish for diving deeper into Asian cuisine. It features typical characteristics of Asian cuisine that allows you to understand the basics behind many Asian recipes and also helps overcome initial uncertainty (lots of new tastes, ingredients, etc.) that a lot of people still have when it comes to Asian food. 

 Many believe that Asian cuisine is incredibly complicated and don’t really know how to handle the various 'foreign' vegetables, sauces and other unknown ingredients. And of course, there are many complex and also complicated recipes in Asian cuisine, which may be a bit overwhelming for beginners. Understandably, a completely foreign cuisine is therefore intimidating for many and ultimately also discourages many from trying new dishes and recipes. 

 But it doesn't have to be that way. All that matters is that you dare and start with a SIMPLE recipe (like this one), 'venture' to the local Asian store and go exploring. Because pretty soon you'll find that the whole thing is only half as complicated as it looks AND how many exciting things and new ingredients there are to discover.

Cooking authentic Asian dishes does not have to be complicated or take ages to prepare. Regarding this whole topic I would like to make a recommendation to everyone interested in venturing into the different Asian cuisines. If you want to cook authentic Asian food and also want to learn more about the recipes, their origin and cultural characteristics, then go looking for recipes, Blogs and IG pages where people really know their stuff, where people from the respective culture show you how to prepare the dishes in question, and get inspired by them.

Here a few recommendations from my side:

Woon Heng https://woonheng.com/ 
(broad spectrum of Asian cuisine)

Lisa  https://okonomikitchen.com/ 
(mainly japanese cuisine)

Kathi und Yang https://www.instagram.com/littlericenoodle/  (mainly chinese dishes)

Lisa https://thevietvegan.com/ 
(mainly vietnamese cuisine)

George https://chejorge.com/ 
(taiwanese cuisine)

https://ministryofcurry.com/ 
(not exclusively vegan; Indian cuisine)

https://dailycookingquest.com/ 
(not vegan, but still a great inspirtation and a great insight into indonesian cuisine)

Jeeca Uy https://thefoodietakesflight.com/ 
(Asian cuisine, mainly simple recipes)

But to get back to the dish in question in this post, here are the 'essentials' for this Asian noodle pan. Basically, you only need 2 important ingredients for this recipe, all the others can be exchanged and combined depending on your taste and preferences. And that's exactly what I love about Asian cuisine: in most dishes, the vegetables as well as the side (rice, noodles, rice cakes...) and also the protein (tofu, tempeh, legumes...) can be exchanged and replaced according to taste and preferences. 

Coming back to the 2 most important ingredients in this recipe, these are without a doubt the sauces, they are what brings the dish together in the end. For this dish we use my absolute favourite the Stir Fry Sauce from Lee Kum Kee, you can find it in any well-stocked Asian Supermarket. This sauce is made with mushrooms and is used by many as a vegan substitute for oyster sauce, as it adds a really delicious umami flavour to any dish. The second sauce that is vital for this dish is soy sauce. There is a huge variety of soy sauces and depending on the respective cuisine (Thai, Japanese, Chinese...) they also differ in taste and texture. But if you are new to Asian cuisine, just stick with a ‘normal’ soy sauce (which you can get at every supermarket) and from there work your way up to all the different varieties in the Asian Supermarket and see which one you like best.

 And that's basically it. All the magic in this dish is done by the sauce. All that you’re missing are the vegetables (depending on your choice and what you happen to have at home), the noodles (or rice) and the tofu (we usually have the one from our closest supermarket but I definitely recommend giving the ones from your local Asian store a try because those are without question 10x better, I’d recommend the extra firm or the smoked tofu).

It takes no longer than 15 minutes to prepare this dish, which is awesome. All you have to do is soak the noodles (if using rice noodles) in cold water, roughly chop the veggies, stir fry the sauce, and fry the tofu. Now fry the veggies in a hot wok/large pan with a little sesame oil, add the tofu, drain the noodles and add them to the wok as well, pour the sauce over everything stir well, put the lid on and simmer for 5 minutes (medium heat). Then stir everything together again and serve. To pimp the whole thing, you can garnish it with roasted peanuts, lime and who likes with chopped coriander. Done!

Not so complicated, after all, is it? And that’s how it is with most dishes. So just jump over your own shadow and then the doors are open in every direction. Thai? Indonesian? Indian? Chinese? Japanese? Vietnamese? Korean? Everything is possible and believe me, once you start discovering and especially TASTING these cuisines, you won’t be able to stop. 

In any case, have fun with the recipe and let us know on Instagram (@theveganallrounder) or directly here on the blog, how you liked the dish should you cook it again, that would make us very happy.

INGREDIENTS

• 240g dry rice noodles (flat, small ones work best) / fresh noodles of your choice for example udon, ramen, soba or fresh rice noodles if you manage to get hold of some

• 300g vegetables of choice (we like to use sugar snap peas, peppers, red onion, oyster mushrooms, kale and carrots)

• 5 cloves of garlic

• 1 Thaichili (if you don't like it too spicy maybe obt for 1/2 a chili)

• 200g firm tofu

• roasted sesame oil for frying

For the sauce

• 5tbsp soysauce

• 1tsp brown sugar or agave syrup

• 2tbsp stir fry sauce

• at least ???100ml of water

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside

2) Soak your dry rice noodles in a bowl of water for at least 20-30 minutes*

3) Coarsely chop your veggies and set aside.

4) Now peal your garlic and put it into a mortar together with the choped chili. Ground until fine.

5) Now unwrap your tofu and tap it dry. Cut into your desired form (cubes, longish slices, thin slice). Fry your tofu in a hot pan together with some sesame oil until nicely browned on both sides.

6) Heat up a large pan or a wok. Add in some sesame oil. Now scrape in the ground garlic and chili and fry for 30 seconds. Add in your chopped veggies and fry for 2-3 minutes. Remove the veggies from the pan/wok and put in a sepearte bowl.

7) Now drain your dried rice noodles, add them to the pan/wok together with the tofu and your prepared sauce. Stir and fry everything for at least another 4-5 minutes. If the noodles start to stick to the pan add in an extra splash of water. When the noodles are done (just give them a try after 4 minutes to see if they are done) add in the veggies and stir until everything comes together nicely. Taste test and season to your liking with some extra soysauce or stir fry sauce.

8) Serve with chopped corrinader, roasted peanuts and fresh lime.

Enjoy!

*Other than that you can also boil your noodles according to the package instructions, but make sure to rinse them thourougly with cold water after the cooking. At the point where the recipe tells you to remove the veggies from the pan/wok, don't do that, leave them there and just add in your tofu, boiled noodles and the prepared sauce. Bring to a boil and while stiring continuously cook for another 1-2 minutes. Then serve and enjoy.

If you're using rice instead of the noodles just prepare the rice according to the package instructions and let it cool down before further using it. Just add the rice to the veggies in the wok, add the tofu and pour the sauce over everything. Stir and fry for another 1-2 minutes. Then serve and enjoy.

Hi, we’re Marie and Michael, two foodies living and studying in Vienna!

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