Vegan soba noodle bowl with creamy peanut sauce

Today’s recipe has to be by far one of my favorite dishes, so Im not quite sure why its taken me so long to share with you guys. I’ve probably made it at least 10 times since starting this blog, so I have no excuses really.

I think the original recipe that inspired this dish would have been Heidi’s Lazy Day Peanut Noodle Salad recipe. It has evolved over the years to become a tasty and comforting bowl filled with lots of veggies, coba noodles, crisp and golden smoked tofu and topped with a creamy thai-inspired peanut sauce.

I remember the first time I made it, I was so pleased with myself for nailing the perfect peanut sauce. Of course, I didn’t really follow a recipe, nor did I write down my measurements so it took me quite a few goes to get it right again after that.

As I mentioned before, the dish has evolved quite a bit since I first made it, and is quite easy to adapt based on personal preference if you want to go down that road. The  main components of are noodles, tofu, veggies and of course the peanut sauce which really makes the dish. I prefer soba noodles, but you could use udon or vermicelli, or rice even. Broccoli and mushrooms are my favorite veggies to throw in, but you could easily substitute other vegetables here – baby corn, peppers, cauliflower, carrots. Eggplant would be great too. And I definitely recommend using smoked tofu, I love the flavour it adds and it compliments the sauce beautifully, however if you cant find it (or if you aren’t a fan of the smoked variety), replace it with normal tofu or tempeh. With the sauce, it will vary a little depending on the type of coconut milk you use (I recommend full fat) as well as the type of red curry paste. Taste it a bit towards the end of the cooking time and add a little extra sugar/lime juice/tamari as needed.

This dish does use 4 pots, but it does come together quite quickly and despite the extra washing up its well worth it. If you’re pressed for time, you can prepare the sauce beforehand – it will last up to a week in the fridge.

Vegan soba noodle bowl with peanut sauce

Notes – I used to add a few splashes of fish sauce to the peanut sauce. If you’re not worried about the dish being vegan – and can stomach fish sauce! – I recommend that you add a little.

Peanut sauce
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
2 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp fish sauce (optional)
250ml full-fat coconut milk

6 large mushroom cups
1 medium sized head of broccoli or two bunches broccolini
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp coconut oil
200g smoked tofu
2 tsp sesame oil

180g soba noodles, cooked according to packet directions

To make the peanut sauce, add the first 5 ingredient to a small saucepan with a third of the coconut milk. Stir over a low to medium heat until well combined then add the remainder of the ca. Bring to a slow boil while stirring, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the sauce has started to thicken and darken in colour.

In the meantime, fry the garlic in the coconut oil over medium heat in a large frypan, around 1 minute. Add the roughly chopped vegetables and a splash of water and cook for about 7-8 minutes, stirring occassionally.

In a seperate frypan, heat the sesame oil over medium to high heat and add the sliced tofu. Fry a minute or two eat side until golden.

Add the tofu and cooked soba noodles to the larger frypan with the cooked vegetables and add two-thirds of the sauce, mixing well to combine all ingredients.

Serve topped with the remaining sauce and chopped peanuts or sesame seeds.

Serves 4