Crispy Tofu with Noodles

Every time I fly I like to buy a cooking magazine to get new ideas for my culinary experiments. I saw this recipe in the new issue from Food and Wine magazine. It comes courtesy of Chef Pino Maffeo from restaurant L in Boston. Of course, I halved the recipe and it still came out pretty good. The only thing I changed is that I added more hoisin sauce than oyster sauce, and I added a few dashes of soy sauce at the very end of cooking. I really like the fried tofu, too.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

• 7 ounces dried udon noodles
• 1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
• 6 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1-inch squares
• 1 egg yolk
• 3/4 pound mixed mushrooms, such as oyster, hen-of-the-woods and stemmed shiitake, thickly sliced (I only used oyster mushrooms)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 pound baby bok choy, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce (I only used 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• A few dashes of soy sauce (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add the udon and cook until tender, 5 minutes; drain. Toss with 1 teaspoon of the canola oil. Meanwhile, put the panko in a large, resealable plastic bag and crush into fine crumbs. In a shallow bowl, gently toss the tofu with the egg yolk. Transfer the tofu to the bag and coat with the panko.

Heat the remaining 1/2 cup of oil in a wok until just smoking (I don't have a wok, so I used my large saute pan). Add the tofu and stir-fry over high heat until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Pour off all but 1/4 cup of the oil and return the wok to high heat. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and bok choy and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Add the udon and oyster and hoisin sauces and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the tofu, a few dashed of soy sauce and toss. Transfer to a bowl and serve.