Tofu and broccoli udon noodle stir fry

This stir fry has thinly sliced tofu and broccoli stir fried together with chewy udon noodles in a sweet and savoury sauce topped with sesame seeds- the perfect quick and easy week night meal.

A stir fry is the perfect lazy, easy meal for a weeknight dinner. However before I could cook I used to use the packet stir fry mix and sauces from the supermarket and usually ended up with a soggy mix of vegetables covered in an underwhelming packet sauce. When I got more into cooking I decided to try and perfect the stir fry from scratch which meant I could choose the veg, adapt the cooking times and make my own sauce. I promise that little bit of extra effort of strategically adding the vegetables and knocking up a sauce to your taste preference is really worth it. This stir fry contains my favourite udon noodles and vegetables- tender stem broccoli and pak choi and a sauce that I really love. So give this recipe a try and be prepared to taste a next level stir fry that will make you ditch that underwhelming stir fry packet.

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Ingredients and substitutes-

Tofu- This recipe calls for extra firm tofu that we will thinly slice with a mandolin. Only the firmest tofu will hold up in the mandolin so if you have a less firm tofu you’ll need to slice a little thicker. And also if you don’t have a mandolin then you can thinly slice with a knife.

Udon- I use pre cooked udon in this recipe which I soak in boiling water from the packet to soften up and stop them from sticking together so much. You can freshly cook noodles if you prefer. Any noodles can be used for this dish, feel free to use whatever you have just cook to packet instructions before adding to stir fries.

Pak choi & tender stem- these are my all time favourite veg to use in a stir fry however if you have vegetables that need using up then feel free to use them just be conscious of cooking times for different vegetables.

Sauce ingredients- I strongly recommend you use the ingredients I have listed for the sauce, most of them are cupboard staples for Chinese cooking and if you don’t have any of them I have linked them in the ingredients section. Once you have made this stir fry sauce you’ll want to eat it time and time again so it’s worth having all of the sauce ingredients in your cupboard.

MSG- The use of MSG in Chinese cooking is so important to upgrade the savoury flavours and really make the dish pop. You can buy MSG from all Asian supermarkets or online.

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Top Tips!

Vegetable cooking times-

When making stir fry consider how long each vegetable takes to cook to ensure everything is your preferred texture. This is why I tend not to use packet stir fry mix as I find each component takes a different amount of time to cook and you can’t monitor this resulting in a soggy stir fry.

Mandolin-

Using a mandolin to slice the tofu is the best way to get the thinnest slices for this dish. No need to get an expensive fancy mandolin a cheap one will do the job- here’s a recommendation- Alternatively you can also slice very thinly with a supersharp knife.

Udon noodles-

I use packet Udon however I find they stick together and boiling them makes them too sticky also so the perfect way I find to prepare these is to soak them in boiling water whilst cooking the rest of the stir fry.

And now for the recipe!

Vegan Tofu and broccoli udon noodle stir fry

​Serves- 2 Time- 15 minutes

Ingredients-

• 280g extra firm tofu

• 2 tbsp light soy sauce

• 1 tbsp cornflour

• 2 packs of cooked udon noodles

• 220g tender stem broccoli

• 1 large Onion

• 250g Pak choi

• Sesame seeds to serve.

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce

• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

• 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce

• 1 tsp brown sugar

• ½ tsp white pepper

• 1tsp sesame oil

• ½ tsp MSG

• 180ml vegan chicken stock (I use oxo)

• 1 tbsp cornflour

Method-

1. If using pre cooked udon noodles in a packet first boil the kettle and submerge the noodles in a big bowl in hot water too loosen and separate the noodles.

2. Thinly slice the tofu and add to a bowl with the soy sauce and corn flour. Combine gently until the tofu is coated (I used my hands for this to reduce the amount of tofu slices breaking)

3. Pan fry the tofu slices until golden on each side and set aside.

4. Thinly slice the onion lengthways, chop the broccoli and pak choi into bitesize pieces then stir fry in oil until cooked through. Set aside.

5. Now prepare the sauce in a small bowl. Add the cornflour to 1 tbsp water and mix until combined. Add all remaining sauce ingredients and your sauce is done.

6. Lastly drain the noodles and in the same pan add a little more oil. Stir fry the noodles for a few minutes then add back in the tofu, veg and sauce and cook until the sauce has thickened.

7. Top with sesame seeds and enjoy!

Why not try these other delicious Chinese recipes?

• Cashew tempeh

• Salt and pepper tofu

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