Spicy Kimchi Cabbage Noodles with Silken Tofu by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

      

July 17, 2020

 

This is a spicy vegetarian noodle dish with flavors of Korea; namely kimchi and gochujang.   (It’s time to open that jar of kimchi that’s been waiting in your fridge for some attention.)

 

Kimchi is spicy fermented cabbage, now widely available in the refrigerated and/or pickle/Asian section at your market. Or if you are very lucky, it’s a gift from a very good friend!

 Gochujang is a thick, spicy-sweet paste of red chilies, sticky rice and fermented soybeans, which is now, also available in markets.  Both these traditional Korean ingredients give the dish requisite heat and umami flavor.

 

  • Prep: 45 mins
  • Cook: 30 mins
  • Yields: 4 Servings

Ingredients

1 small head green cabbage, about 2-pounds

1 cup thinly sliced Vidalia or other sweet onion

2 carrots, peeled

1 tablespoon fresh garlic, finely minced (2 or 3 cloves, depending on size)

1-inch piece fresh gingerroot, peeled, sliced and finely diced

½ bunch scallions, washed & dried

3-4 tablespoons vegetable or grapeseed oil (plus more as needed)

¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to your taste

1 cup kimchi

1 can (about 14 ounces) diced tomatoes with their juice

3 tablespoons gochujang paste, plus more to your taste

1 package silken (soft) tofu, (a 12-16-ounce package)

8 ounces dried ‘Lo Mein’ noodles or your choice of noodle (see headnote above)

½ cup frozen green peas

1 teaspoon soy sauce (more or less to taste)

Optional: 1-2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar

½ bunch scallions, washed & dried

Directions

Prepare the ingredients

To thinly slice cabbage, I employ the following technique: Cut off the bottom of the cabbage and remove the loose and tough outer leaves. Cut the cabbage into quarter (4) wedges. Remove the triangular-shaped core from the inside of each of the wedges. Lay one wedge of cabbage down on the cutting board and gently flatten it with the palm of your hand. (I find that if I divide the thickness of the cabbage in half, I have more control over the slicing process.) Slice across the cabbage wedge in thin slices. The pieces will be shorter at the pointed end and gradually increase in length as you ‘travel’ down the wedge of cabbage. Proceed with cutting all the cabbage. Set aside.

Slice the onions. Set aside.

Slice the carrots diagonally into thin slices. Then cut each slice in half or thirds. Set aside.

Prep the garlic and gingerroot

Thinly slice the scallions, separating the greens and whites. Set aside.

Rinse the tofu under cold running water and gently strain. It will more than likely fall apart. Put the crumbled tofu in a bowl and set aside. The pieces won’t be evenly sized, that’s the nature of soft/silken tofu.

To the stove

Heat a casserole pan/Dutch oven on medium heat and add 2-3 tablespoons cooking oil. Add the sliced cabbage with a small pinch of salt. Stir and cook over medium-low heat until wilted and softened. Add the sliced carrots, the chopped ginger and the minced garlic. Add more oil if needed to prevent sticking. Add the canned tomatoes, the kimchee and the gochujang paste. Stir to combine and simmer over low heat while you cook the noodles. (The sauce should simmer for 20-25 minutes total. Overlap the cooking of the pasta with the last 15 minutes of simmering the sauce. )

Cook the noodles in plenty of salted boiling water until ‘al dente’. Just before draining the noodles add the peas. Drain the pasta and stir in a few drops of oil to prevent sticking. Add the white parts of the chopped scallions to the drained, hot pasta. Set aside.

Assembling the dish

Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning to your taste. A bit of vinegar? Spicier? Add more gochujang? Add a few drops of soy sauce or kosher salt to season.

Add the scallion greens and the crumbled soft tofu. Stir gently to combine all.

Serve individually or in one platter/bowl

Add a portion of pasta to the bottom of the bowl bowl and spoon the sauce on top.

 

I used dried ‘Lo Mein’ noodles which were wide, flat and about 8-inches in length.  They were made with wheat flour.  (I wanted a wider, flatter and shorter noodle than fettucine. That being said, fettucine would work just fine as would Thai rice noodles or Japanese udon/buckwheat noodles or fresh Chinese ‘yellow’ noodles.)

 

 

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