Chili Crisp

This ramen dish is one of our new favorites.  It has tons of umami flavor that makes this dish a real stand out.  The chili crisp adds a nice hint of heat and is used in the sauce and later spooned over the noodles before serving.  This happens to be a vegan recipe which means that everyone can try it out.  Surprise!  The tofu is not bland, watery or tasteless in this dish.  Even non-vegans will find it delicious.

I highly recommend the TofuXpress tofu press for those of you who eat and cook tofu often.  In fact even if you cook with tofu occasionally, this handy kitchen gadget is a dream come true.  You may shy away from buying it because of the price (online from $42.95) but just go for it.  I have had mine for more than 10 years and never regret purchasing it.  The water is pressed out of the tofu quickly so that your tofu is ready to use in 15-30 minutes.  For this dish I suggest using extra firm tofu such as WildWood Organic.

Once the water is pressed out, the tofu is crumbled into small pieces before pan frying until crisp.

I prefer to use fresh ramen noodles, however, I use dried ramen when fresh is not available.  If using the dried version such as Ichiban, be sure to undercook the noodles until just al dente since they are quite a bit thinner than fresh noodles.

Shiitake mushrooms are a big star in this recipe.  They are chopped finely and pan fried with the diced shallots until nicely browned before being added to the fried tofu.

I purchased three different brands of chili crisp to see which one I liked best. There are hundreds of versions available. Of the three I purchased, my favorite is Zindrew (O.G. Batch jar).  It’s on the mild heat side, but it has lots of flavor, is very crunchy, and is the least oily. There’s just a tablespoon of it left in the jar!

The crumbled tofu is pan fried until crisp on both sides.  The texture of the fried tofu is pleasantly firm with a bit of chew to it. 

Shiitake mushrooms are fried with diced shallots until nicely browned.  These mushrooms works so well with this dish because they have a meaty texture and do not have as much water as other types of mushrooms.

The sauce is added to the tofu and mushroom mixture and quickly heated before serving.  The original recipe from Bon Appetit calls this dish Saucy Tofu Noodles with Cucumbers and Chili Crisp.  I found that in order to keep this “saucy” the sauce should be heated separately otherwise the tofu and mushroom mixture absorbs the sauce very quickly.  Either way, it’s just delicious.

Thinly sliced quick cucumber pickles are the topping for this ramen dish.  Their tartness and crisp texture are a perfect accompaniment to the savory tofu ramen.

Tofu Ramen with Cucumbers & Chili Crisp

 

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Adapted from Bon Appetit

Author: Kiyo Miller

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• ¼ cup less sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon light or dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons Chinkiang (black vinegar) or balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chili crisp + more for serving
• 2 very small Keiki cucumbers or Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced into rounds
• ½ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal or 1¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt, divided
• 1 14-ounce block extra-firm tofu, water pressed out
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and finely chopped
• 1 shallot (2 tablespoons) finely chopped
• 1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 medium or 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 10 ounces fresh ramen (12 ounces for 4 servings)

Preparation

1. Whisk soy sauce, brown sugar, tahini, sesame oil, black vinegar, 1 tablespoon chili crisp, and ½ cup water in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
2. Toss cucumbers with rice vinegar and 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ¾ teaspoon Morton salt in a medium bowl. Let sit, stirring occasionally until cucumbers have slightly softened, about 30 minutes. Drain and set aside in a small bowl.
3. Meanwhile, press water from tofu using TofuXpress or wrap in a clean kitchen towel (gather ends together) and squeeze with your hands over the sink to extract as much liquid as possible. Crumble drained tofu into a medium bowl (it should resemble cooked ground meat with some larger pieces). Sprinkle with cornstarch and 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ½ Morton salt. Toss with your hands to evenly coat tofu.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large (12-inch) non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Arrange tofu crumbles in a single layer, reserve bowl. Cook tofu undisturbed until golden brown underneath, about 4 minutes. Toss and continue cooking until tofu is golden brown and crisp all over, about 3-4 minutes more. Transfer tofu back to reserved bowl.
5. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to same skillet and heat to medium high. Add mushrooms and shallot, and cook, stirring occasionally until mushrooms are browned and shallot is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium and return tofu to the pan. Add reserved sauce and heat for about 30-60 seconds. Remove from heat. For saucier version, heat sauce in a separate skillet over medium until just slightly reduced.
6. Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions. Drain and divide among bowls. Ladle tofu over noodles and top with reserved pickled cucumbers and more chili crisp. If sauce has been heated separately, pour sauce over tofu right before serving.

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