This recipe for Korean inpired tofu noodles combines thick Asian wheat noodles with juicy mushrooms in a sweet soy and sesame oil sauce.  I don’t think it is authentic, but it is full of Korean flavors. I combined a recipe from a cookbook called Everyday Asian by Marnie Henrickssonwith a dish I used to get with my friend Sarita on Hermosa Pier long back. Everyday Asian is my absolute favorite cookbook. The funny thing is that I ordered it for a gift, but because it didn’t have pictures, I decided it wasn’t “gifty” enough! Well, maybe it doesn’t have pictures, but it has about the best recipes I have ever cooked from a cookbook.

Marnie’s version of Korean noodles is great itself, but I added a few other items to make it more vegetarian hardy, such as onions and red bell peppers, tofu instead of beef, and cashews. And I found a great asian dried wheat noodle! These are substantial noodles, don’t get gooey, and you can get a lot in a package without them taking up so much space (good for us since the Asian market isn’t close by!).

8 ounces Asian wheat noodles
3/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons sesame oil
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon korean chili paste/gochujang (optional)
1 tablespoon korean bean/chili paste/ssamjang (optional)
1 teaspoon oil
1/2 container tofu cut into cubes and drained
1 tablespoon oil
1 red bell pepper sliced
1 large onion sliced
1 more tablespoon oil
3-4 dried red chilis
4 garlic cloves chopped
12 ounces shitake mushrooms
Salt
1/3 cup roasted cashews (I toast them again even though they’re already toasted)
3 green onions chopped

1. Boil noodles according to the directions on the package. These ones took about 7-8 minutes.
2. Mix together the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, brown sugar, and both chili pastes in a bowl.
3. Heat the teaspoon of oil in a medium skillet over medium low heat.
4. Add the tofu and cook on each side until each side is a little toasted.
5. Heat oil in a wok on high heat and add the bell pepper.
6. Cook over high heat stirring constantly for a few minutes, then add the onions and keep stirring.
7. Once peppers and onions are soft yet still a little crisp, take them out of the wok temporarily.
8. Add the rest of the oil and then the chilis and garlic.
9. Stir for a minute and then add the mushrooms and cook stirring frequently until the mushrooms get soft. I added a little of the sauce at this point and it burned a little, but it ended up giving the mushrooms a nice smokey taste!
10. Add back the bell peppers and onions, then the noodles, sauce, tofu, and cashews, and stir all together.
11. Top with green onions.