Vietnamese Tofu and Noodle Salad Recipe

Instructions

• 1

  Prepare the tofu
  
  Place the blocks of tofu on a cutting board and cut them into half horizontally. Now, lay the tofu slices flat in a non-metallic or heatproof dish. Set the dish aside until you mix the marinate ingredients.
• 2

  Mix together all the marinate ingredients
  
  Take a bowl and add in the deseeded and finely diced chilies, thinly sliced garlic cloves and spring onions. Mix these marinade ingredients until slot into one another thoroughly.
• 3

  Sprinkle the marinate mixture over tofu
  
  Evenly drizzle the marinate-mixture over the tofu slices on the salad dish. Turn the tofu slices in order to properly coat both of their sides. Enfold the salad dish with a plastic wrapping sheet and set it aside for approximately 30 minutes in order to marinate properly.
• 4

  Combine the other ingredients
  
  Until the mixture is marinating, take a large and deep serving dish and place the bean sprouts in it. Top the sprouts with roughly chopped fresh coriander, freshly chopped basil, and the nicely shredded Chinese mustard greens. Add in the lime juice and half the sugar. Mix them until the sugar dissolve completely. Set the serving dish aside.
  
  Note: You can replace the Chinese mustard greens with Chinese leaves or pak choy.
• 5

  Cook the snow peas
  
  Fill the sauce pan with cold water, place it on your stove and set the heat to medium range. Bring the water to boil, add in the snow peas and cook them for around one minute. Now, remove the snow peas with a slotted spoon and drain in a colander with fine holes. Refresh them under cold running water and sprinkle over the bean sprout mixture.
• 6

  Cook the noodles
  
  Take another pan and add some water to it. Place it on stove and bring the water to boil. Add in the rice noodles once the water starts boiling. Cook the noodles for 2 to 3 minutes and remove pan from heat. Now, cover the pan by placing its lid at the top and set it aside for approximately 3 to 4 minutes or until the noodles are softened.
• 7

  Drain the cooked noodles
  
  Take a colander and drain the cooked noodles carefully. Rinse them under cold running water and drain again. Now, tip the cooked noodles back into the pan.
• 8

  Mix the tofu and the noodles
  
  Drain the marinated from the tofu right onto the noodles. Toss them for few seconds and set aside. Now, leave the tofu lying smooth in the serving dish.
• 9

  Grill the tofu
  
  Grab a large non-sticking grill and place it on your medium heat until hot. In the meantime, drizzle half of the olive oil over the tofu on the serving dish. Now, place the tofu on the hot grill and bake them for 4 to 6 minutes or until light brown and formed a skin on the top surface. Turn the tofu pieces time to time, using a large flat wooden spatula.
• 10

  Sprinkle the grilling tofu pieces with sugar and oil
  
  Sprinkle the grilling tofu pieces with the caster sugar and the remaining olive oil. Grill the tofu pieces for another 4 minutes.
• 11

  Add in the nuts
  
  Sprinkle ¾ cups of the finely chopped unsalted peanuts over the tofu. Grill them for a final 2 minutes or until the nuts are browned thoroughly. Remove the pan from heat and set aside until cook to grip.
• 12

  Tip the noodles on top of the bean sprout mixture
  
  At this time, pour the noodles on top of the previously mixed bean sprout mixture on the large serving dish, forming another layer.
• 13

  Slice the tofu
  
  Take a sharp knife and slice the recently grilled warm tofu pieces into about 2cm-thick fingers.
• 14

  Arrange the tofu fingers on the top of the salad
  
  Now, arrange the sliced tofu fingers on top of the salad in the serving dish. Top with the telegraph cucumber and toasted nuts.
• 15

  Finally, Serve
  
  Your Vietnamese Tofu and Noodle Salad is all set. Serve it without delay. Do not forget to serve the salad with four medium salads plates or bowls along with four forks.