Tofu, Veggie, Noodle Bowl with Almond Butter Sauce

This dish is a combination of some new-to-me ingredients that I wanted to try out: black rice noodles and Za’atar spice blend. I recently discovered black rice noodles in an episode of Jane and Ann Esselstyn’s Youtube show. So I decided to use them here. Regular rice noodles would work just as well, or you can choose any other noodle you like! I really like the black noodles, it gives the dish a nice color.

The other ingredient I wanted to try out was a Za’atar spice blend. A few weeks ago I shared how I meal prep without a plan and in that post I included a dip using the Za’atar spice blend. But this noodle bowl was actually my first attempt at using it. I am in love with this spice blend. I think it is the sumac that I like so much in this blend, which I don’t think I’ve ever had before. It has such a punchy, bright flavor. I’ve started just sprinkling this on any big bowl of steamed or sautéed veggies and it’s amazing!

Now this stir fry is a little more decadent than my usual meals using two higher fat ingredients…tofu and almond butter. So if you are avoiding overt fats, be aware of that. Keep in mind they are spread throughout the dish though, so overall you’re still getting a pretty healthy stir fry, full of flavor.

As always feel free to mix and match ingredients. I chose to use a frozen stir fry veggie mix for convenience, but feel free to choose your own fresh veggies to chop and sauté.

Tofu, Veggie, Noodle Bowl with Almond Butter Sauce

Course: MainCuisine: Vegan, Oil-FreeDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 block firm tofu frozen and defrosted

• 1 tablespoon chickpea flour

• 1 package black rice noodles*

• 2 10-ounce packages stir fry veggies

• Tofu Marinade

• 4 teaspoons coconut aminos*

• 3 teaspoons rice vinegar

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• Stir Fry Sauce

• 2 tablespoons almond butter*

• 1 teaspoon coconut aminos*

• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

• 4 teaspoons Za’atar blend

• splash water

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Start heating a pot of water for your noodles.
• Whisk together the tofu marinade ingredients in a small measuring cup and set aside.
• Break tofu into crumbly chunks in a shallow dish and pour marinade over top. You can let the tofu marinate for a couple hours to really soak up the flavor, but if you don’t have time, just gently press the tofu into the marinade to soak up as much as possible. Then toss with enough flour to coat. Bake for about 15 minutes, toss tofu around then bake 15 more minutes until tofu turns golden.
• While the tofu bakes, cook noodles per package directions. Then start to warm up your frozen stir fry veggies in a large skillet, add splashes of water as needed to prevent sticking.
• While the veggies heat up, mix together the stir fry sauce in a small measuring cup.
• Once the noodles are done, drain and add them to the skillet with the veggies. Add the stir fry sauce and mix until everything is well incorporated. Serve the noodles and veggies with the tofu on top. Enjoy!

Notes

• You can use any kind of noodles.
• You could use soy sauce or Bragg liquid aminos instead of coconut aminos. Or omit if you are avoiding added sodium.
• You could also try tahini, peanut butter, or sunflower seed butter.