Spicy Rice Noodles With Crispy Tofu and Spinach

We enjoyed this, but like others I felt it needed a little more sauce, and I probably would pesto-ize the basil and scallions in a different way next time. Recipe calls for wide rice noodles but I think linguine sized (like in picture) would have been better. I did 3 cloves of garlic instead of 1 and could have definitely done more. Would be nice to use some garlic crisps as garnish. I did blanched bok choy instead of spinach, which worked out well. Would be nice to add more greens altogether

This is fantastic! I used regular vegetable oil in place of the peanut oil, but tossed in a small handful of peanuts instead. The flavors work beautifully together and it has a fresh, light taste with great depth and a hint of heat. This is a wonderful vegan dish, one I’ll be making often. Love it!

I want my hour back. I followed the recipe, am a good cook with professional experience but yikes, for all the effort, so little payoff. Tofu flavorless and dry and none of the coatings stuck. I had semi-naked, shriveled 1/2 inch cubes and a pile of too-toasted lonely Panko crumbs wanting to bond to a big hunk of tofu but no go. We've all been there I guess. The "furious" chopping made a paste but with no complexity at all. The spicy oil is bland 1/2 lime isn't enough acid!

Mostly very good though I took some pantry/weeknight liberties. However, I found the tofu cubes, though crisp, bland; I might revert to my Moosewood baked version (sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger) next time. I substituted mint (overrunning garden) for the basil and pulverized it quickly with mortar and pestle, and bok choy leaves (blanched) for the spinach. Will definitely make again.

This rated 5/5 stars for dinner. Sauce stuck to 10mm noodles. Flavors were layered and complex. I used grapeseed oil instead peanut. Tofu had flavor and crunch. I chopped the baby spinach. There was enough sauce and the spinach wilted slightly; the perfect amount imo. Leftovers went in the fridge and rated 5/5 the next day for lunch. Flavors still excellent, oils didn’t congeal, and noodles stayed soft and moist. This is perfect to serve warm or make ahead and serve chilled. Picnic or potluck 👍

Very good, it found that the finished dish needed more sauce of some kind. I used all the oil, but it was still rather dry. I had some leftover peanut dipping sauce from an Asian dumpling meal which helped. The tofu cooking method is the bomb.

I didn't make the tofu as the recipe states, instead I squeezed the extra water out of the tofu, let it soak in soy sauce, sesame oil, minced garlic, and vegetable oil. After soaking for 10 minutes, I popped it in the oven for 40 minutes, flipping halfway through. It doesn't get crunchy, but packs a lot of flavor. Other than that, I followed the recipe to a T and it's really good! The spicy sauce is really flavorful.

Thought this recipe was good, but a little dry and bland. I made this a little more vietnamese style by tossing the noodles with fish sauce, soy sauce, a little sugar, and extra lime. Also included cilantro and mint in the "pesto." Topped with chopped roasted peanuts. Tofu crisped up nicely. Overall, quite tasty with these additions.

We have found that baking the tofu for 25 minutes at 425 convection yields crispy tofu.

I sauteed the spinach with a bit of sesame oil before adding it to the noodles and it was perfect

Just a FYI, you can use cloth dish towels to press the tofu. Then just wash them.

Love this method for tofu... it’s life changing tofu. :) Only change we make to the noodle recipe is to sauté the spinach with some of the spicy oil. Delicious!

Wanted to edit my previous note to add this...I took out the slices of garlic and ginger before pouring the oil. This was a very tasty recipe. I wish the pesto clung to the pasta a little better - not sure how to achieve that though. I also wish I'd had some unsalted cashews or peanuts to add - they would have been a perfect complement. Will definitely make this again.

Loved this recipe -- definitely going into the weekly rotation. A few notes: -swapped tofu with tempeh and pan fried (rather than baked), omitting breadcrumbs and cornstarch -burned the ginger/garlic/sesame seed oil promptly; keep a close eye on it! -used canola & olive oils and it was good, but i'm will definitely use peanut & sesame oils next time

Not enough sauce. Double the sauce instructions. Also I slightly steamed the spinach as I didn’t think the pouring of oil would do the trick. Lastly double the tofu quantity to 2 packages and coatings.