Sesame, Ginger Noodle Bowl, with Crispy Tofu and Toasted Coconut-Greens

This bowl is light and invigorating. Trust the Sesame-Ginger Dressing with Lime, to awaken your senses with its tangy freshness! Toasted sesame oil is one of my favourite ways to quickly add delicious flavour to noodles and veggies. Other highlights in this bowl is the crispy tofu, and the toasted coconut sprinkled greens, which is inspired by Seroendeng. a common staple in Indonesian kitchens, that adds magic wherever it’s applied.

Recipe & Photography Nina Olsson

Let’s get started! To make the tofu crispy, you need to use a generous amount of oil while frying the tofu on a higher temperature. Beware of hot oil sizzling and shooting out of the pan! You can also fry with less oil and on lower temperature, the tofu will still be tasty, and, less crispy.

I add a generous portion of greens for balance and nourishment to this bowl. Here I used green beans and sprouts sprinkled with toasted spiced coconut which I love to use from everything from coconut stews to potatoes.

The sweetness plays an important role in this meal, to balance the sourness from the lime and vinegar. You can use less sugar and use your own choice of sweetener. As always, feel free to customise the recipe as you like.

makes 2 bowls

Toasted coconut sprinkle
50g desiccated coconut
1 tablespoon coconut or brown sugar
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander seeds
½ teaspoon salt

250g mixed seasonal greens such as green beans, asparagus, garden pea pods
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Tofu
250g medium natural tofu, cut into bite sizes pieces
olive oil for baking
300 ml olive oil for baking
a sprinkle of salt
2 teaspoons of coconut or brown sugar (can be omitted)

150g noodles of your choice, cooked according to package instructions

Add-ins (optional)
½ Cucumber
2 handfuls of fresh micro greens
1 avocado, halved
lime wedges for decoration
1 tablespoon fresh chives or coriander, chopped fine
250g roasted or steamed root vegetables such as sweet potato or carrots, chopped (roast for 20 minutes on 180C, brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt)

Sesame Ginger Dressing
3 tablespoons shoyu or tamari sauce
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 ½ tablespoons rice wine vinegar
the juice of 1 lime
1 garlic clove, crushed into purée
1 ½ tablespoon agave or maple syrup (and extra to taste
1 teaspoon ginger, freshly grated
½ tablespoon finely sliced deseeded red chilli pepper (omit if you don’t want a hot sauce, alternatively add more chilli pepper if you want more heat)
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Instructions:
Heat up a frying pan to medium hot temperature: Add the coconut sprinkle ingredients. Toast until the coconut is deeply golden and browned, stirring continuously to avoid burning. Remove from the heat and store in a bowl until assembly.

Mix the Dressing ingredients together. Taste and adjust the sweetness and saltiness with the syrup and shoyu sauce to your liking (if needed). Set aside until serving.

Steam or cook the greens for 3 minutes. Remove and rinse under ice cold water for a minute. Drain and place in a bowl. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle and toss with the toasted coconut sprinkle.

Heat up a frying pan to just above medium high temperature, and pour in the olive oil. Be careful not to catch oil splatters. Carefully place the tofu in the pan and sprinkle with salt Let the tofu cubes sizzle for a minute, nudge them with wooden or metal spatula to make sure they’re not burning or sticking to the pan. When they look crisp and brown on the underside, turn them and fry the other sides until the tofu is crisp on all sides. Turn of the heat and sprinkle with coconut or brown sugar.

Assemble the bowls by dividing noodles, greens, tofu and add-ins between them. Sprinkle with a little salt and drizzle with dressing.

Vegan and gluten-free notes

VE ✔︎
GF  Use gluten noodles. Use tamari instead of shoyu.

Ceramic Crush!
In the assembled bowl I’m using the ceramic bowl by Milou Broersen, that we sell in our webshop. The other bowls are from Birdtsang (Amsterdam) and the dressing bowl from Gaya in Bali, Indonesia.