Japchae with Veggies and Red Lentil Tofu

Not to brag or anything, but our Alpenglow Red Lentil Tofu was recently served at a wedding. The bride and groom told us the evening was a blur, but the thing they remember best was our tofu. Just kidding. We wish! Actually, we don't wish. We hope our tofu was merely a delicious and energizing supporting character with a bit part to play in making the whole night perfect. Chef Aleta Williams of Loquiacious Culinary Events incorporated the tofu into a delicious japchae noodle stir-fry with veggies. This is our best guess at what went into it, adapted for home cooking.

Ingredients

For noodles and veggies

• 1 package japchae (sweet potato noodles)
• 1-2 packs Alpenglow Red Lentil Tofu
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 3 scallion stalks
• 3 garlic cloves
• 6 shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated
• large handful of spinach
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds -- try a mix of colors if you have it!

For sauce

• 5 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sugar -- you can also use honey or mirin
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

Instructions

First, get a pot of water heating for the noodles. You'll need this later.

• Slice all the vegetables (except spinach) very thin. Finely chop the garlic.
• Cube the tofu.
• Heat a pan, then add oil. Add tofu cubes. Cook for 5-6 minutes, until crispy, then use a sharp-edged spatula to get beneath the cubes to flip. Cook another 5-6 minutes and set aside.
• To the same pan, add onions and cook for a few minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add in the shiitake mushrooms and carrot and cook for a few more minutes. Finally, add the zucchini and scallions and cook for a few more minutes. As you're doing all this...

(2) Make the sauce

• Combine sauce ingredients and mix together. One hack is to combine them in a mason jar or old pasta sauce jar and shake to combine with no cleanup.

(3) Cook the noodles and spinach

• The water in your pot should be boiling by now. Cook the japchae according to the package. Once cooked, remove the noodles and run them under cold water
• Add 1 tsp of sesame oil to coat the noodles, and then use scissors to cut the noodles (around 3-4 times).
• In the same pot, add in the spinach and blanch for 30 seconds. Remove from water and add to pan with veggies.

(4) Combine

• Add the noodles, spinach, and sauce to the tofu-veggie mixture in the pan. Toss and cook on low heat for a minute until everything is nicely combined. Add sesame seeds, and mix in or simply use as a garnish.