A slight departure from My Great Korean Food Adventure (so far I’ve made Japchae and Scallion pancakes), although still in the same general neighborhood I suppose (if Asia can be considered a neighborhood).

This recipe is adapted from one that Vegetarian Times sent me when they were trying to lure me back in. You know when you let your subscription with them lapse and they start sending you recipe cards with progressively better subscription prices? Well, when they sent me their Spicy Peanut Noodles recipe along with an offer for 3 years at $14, I caved. Consider me wooed!

The first time I made it I followed their instructions, but this time around I got pretty liberal with my adaptations. Side note: I read an article once about “Blogger Etiquette”, and it was mostly about when you should (or shouldn’t) reprint a recipe, and what constitutes an “adaptation”. The basic rule of thumb was don’t print a recipe without permission (unless it’s already widely published), if you made changes it’s okay to post your version, but you should link back to the original. Finally, they (I don’t remember who they were) said if you made more than 3 changes to the recipe, it was no longer really an adaption. It was your recipe, and you didn’t really need to link back to the original. I don’t know how I feel about that last part. If someone else provided the starting point, inspiration or even idea, I like to give them credit. I know it tickles me when another blogger takes a recipe of mine, makes it their own and credits me with the original, so that’s what I do.

Sorry about the rant. I just thought it was interesting

Anyhoo, here’s the recipe. I used 3 teaspoons of thai chili paste, but if you’re not sure about your preferred heat level start with 2. Once the sauce is mixed just give it a taste- you’ll know what to do.

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Thai Noodles and Tofu with a Spicy Peanut Sauce (Makes 6 servings)

Adapted from Vegetarian Times recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 package firm tofu, pressed
• 4-5 T Braggs liquid aminos
• 2 t ground ginger
• 10 ounces Banh Pho (Thai rice noodles)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 T creamy peanut butter
• 4 T soy sauce
• 2 T rice wine vinegar
• 2-4 t Thai chili paste (depending on your taste buds, start with 2 and work your way up- I used 3)
• 1 t sugar
• 1/3 cup warm water
• Sesame oil for frying tofu
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1.5 cups seedless cucumber, sliced in half longways, then sliced very thin
• 3-4 scallions, sliced thin
• 1/3 cup salted, roasted peanuts
• Lime wedges
• cilantro for sprinkling, if desired

Directions:

1. Chop the tofu into bite-sized cubes and place in a bowl with the Braggs and ground ginger. Let marinate for at least an hour.
2. Cook Banh Pho according to package directions, rinse in cold water and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix the peanut butter, soy sauce, rice wine, chili paste, sugar and water. Use a whisk or fork to make sure everything is mixed and there are no peanut butter lumps. Set aside.
4. Heat large skillet over medium-high heat and stir fry tofu in sesame oil until lightly browned and crispy. Reduce heat to low, then add noodles, peanut sauce, peppers and cucumbers to the skillet stirring until everything is heated through and completely combined. The noodles should be evenly coated. If the sauce is too thick and difficult to stir, add in a few T of water and keep stirring. If you accidentally add too much water, simply turn up the heat and cook it off.
5. Top individual servings with scallions, peanuts, lime wedges and cilantro (if desired).

Enjoy!