Rice noodles with tofu, scallions and snow peas (GF)

We started out wanting to make Pad Thai, but found that we were missing some crucial ingredients.
We substituted those ingredients with others and came up with a dish of noodles that bears little resemblance to Pad Thai, but is delicious all the same.

A word about soy sauce: I've discovered that I strongly prefer GF tamari to regular soy sauce (this is probably also true for regular tamari, I just haven't tried). Tamari has a milder, more gentle flavor than soy sauce, which can sometimes be overpowering. This recipe uses a lot of the sauce, because I also used it as an alternative to fish sauce in the original recipe.

And a word about the tofu: in this recipe, the tofu is fried before adding to the noodles, in order to give it a better texture and keep it from being bland. However, to avoid the frying, try marinading it in some strong flavors instead.

Noodles with Tofu, Scallions and Snow Peas

 Ingredients (for two decent portions, or one  very hungry diner): 

*  1/4 pound (120 grams) wide rice noodles 
*  7 oz (200 grams) extra firm tofu, cut into strips
*  canola oil for frying
*  2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
*  about 1/4 vegetable broth or water
*  4 scallions (green onions), chopped
*  1 egg, lightly beaten  (can be made without the egg to make it vegan)
*  handful of fresh snow peas, sliced into strips
*  1/4 cup of roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
*  1/2 lime or lemon

For the sauce: 
* 5 tbsp GF tamari sauce (or regular tamari or regular soy sauce)
* 2 tbsp sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes

Preparation:

1. soften/cook the noodles following the instructions on the box. Drain, rinse and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients. 

3. In a non-stick wok, heat about an inch (2 cms) of canola oil to medium high heat, and  fry the tofu strips until they are golden. With a slotted spoon, remove the tofu strips to a plate covered in kitchen towel, to drain. Carefully pour out most of the oil, leaving only about 1 tbsp in the wok.

4. Place the wok on medium heat and add in the garlic. When the garlic is lightly golden, add the tofu and toss together. (I find the best way to work with stir frying is with a combination of a wooden spoon and heat proof kitchen tongs, but whatever works for you).

5. Add the softened noodles into the wok and toss. Pour the sauce over the noodles (make sure you get the sugar, that tends to stick to the bottom of the bowl) and stir well. Then pour a little bit of the vegetable broth (or water) over the noodles, to keep them from sticking and creating some more sauce. Stir well.

6. Push the noodles to one side of the wok, creating some space. In that space, add a little bit more oil (just a tsp or two will do). Pour the egg into the newly created wok space, and when it starts to set, scramble it. Mix the scrambled egg into the noodles.

7. Once again push the noodles to one side. In the space created, add the snow peas and the scallions and cook until they are just lightly cooked. Mix them into the noodles and keep cooking, while stirring, for a little longer, just until the snow peas are a little soft (but still crunchy).

8. Squeeze the lemon (or lime) over the noodles and stir well.

9. Plate the noodles and garnish with the chopped peanuts.

Enjoy!