A delicious Thai peanut sauce is combined with veggies and tossed with noodles and baked tofu.  It’s naturally vegetarian and vegan but feel free to substitute chicken if you prefer. For another favorite Thai-inspired dish be sure to try our popular Thai Peanut Chicken!   What do you do when you have a tub of tofu nearing expiration and a stalk of lemongrass screaming to be used? Well, I’ll tell you what I did.  I made a super quick, super easy, super tasty lunch – all in 10 minutes.  (Not counting the baking time of the tofu). The lemongrass automatically made me think “Thai”, so I started gathering up other ingredients that went along with that theme.  Red Thai chilies, dry roasted peanuts, noodles, peanut butter, ginger, garlic, etc.  Looking at what I had laid out on the counter I decided to go with a pasta dish with a sweet and spicy lemongrass-peanut sauce.  This would have worked perfectly with chicken as well, but I had that screaming tofu, remember?  (Or was it the lemongrass that was screaming?  I don’t remember.)  In any case, the tofu was begging to be used and so I had mercy on it and granted it its dying wish:  To be used in a way that would pay homage to its being, reflect the beauty of its legacy.  I did just that and made Thai Peanut Tofu Noodles.  They’re naturally vegetarian and vegan and for gluten free simply use GF noodles. Whether you use tofu or substitute with chicken, you’re going to love this simple, quick and delicious dish.

Thai Peanut Noodles Recipe

If using chicken, see recipe printout for instructions. Dice up the tofu and place it in a bowl.

Combine the marinade ingredients.

Pour the marinade evenly over the tofu cubes and let marinate for at least 20 minutes.

Spread the screaming tofu cubes (sorry, I keep forgetting that was the lemongrass) out on a baking sheet sprayed with vegetable oil (discard the marinade) and bake in a preheated oven of 400 F for 20-25 minutes or until desired texture is reached, turning over with a spatula after 15 minutes and every 5 minutes thereafter.  If using “firm” tofu (as opposed to “extra firm”), bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Look at this lovely, non-screaming tofu.  Even those of you who dislike tofu have to admit this is lookin’ pretty good.  Remove the tofu from the oven and set aside.  (Ideally, you’ll be preparing all the other ingredients while the tofu is baking so it’s all ready to be tossed together at the end.)

Saute the ginger, garlic, lemongrass and red chilies for about 1-2 minutes until very fragrant.

Add the sauce ingredients to the saucepan.

Squeeze a couple of teaspoons of lime juice and add it to the sauce.  This is going to add a touch of yummy freshness to the spiciness of the dish.  Simmer the sauce for one minute. Add the broth to the peanut sauce to thin it out and simmer for another minutes.

Cook the noodles as instructed.  I used Udon noodles because that’s what I had on hand.  You can also use Chinese egg noodles, spaghetti, linguine, angel hair, fettuccine, etc.

Drain the pasta and place in a large bowl. Add the tofu, peanuts, carrots and green onions.  Look at this beautiful array of colors and textures.  But we’re not finished yet so don’t start eating!

Toss to combine the ingredients.

Pour that heavenly Thai peanut sauce over the noodles.

Carefully stir and toss to combine and thoroughly coat the pasta.  That’s it, you’re done!

Serve warm or cold.  A nice cool, crispy cucumber salad would make a nice accompaniment.

  Read more about me…

Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 59Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 55Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 79Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 12Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 62Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 32Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 52Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 9Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 12Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 64Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 41Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 4Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 9Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 78Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 45Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 25Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 70Thai Peanut Tofu or Chicken Noodles Recipe - 19