Supernatural Cooking Recipes #4 and 5 Crunchy Slaw Salad and Otsu

The Otsu noodle dish was delicious, the crunchy slaw did not have enough flavor and would need some adjustments before making again. 

We tried shoyu soy sauce, brown rice vinegar for the first time as well as extra firm nigari tofu. In the past I have only used "firm"tofu which is soft and does not hold its shape. The extra firm tofu did great with browning it. The  These will be good additions into our diet. We were able to find the ingredients at a local health food store.  The soba noodles which are made out of buckwheat are rich in lysine and protein. 

Otsu

Grated zest of one lemon

one inch cube fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 Tbl honey

3/4 tsp cayenne pepper

3/4 tsp sea salt

1 Tbl freshly squeezed  lemon juice

1/4 cup brown rice vinegar

1/3 cup shoyu sauce

2 Tbl olive oil

2 Tbl toasted sesame oil

12 ounces dried soba noodles

12 ounces extra firm nigari tofu

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 green onions thinly sliced

1/2 cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, seeded  and thinly sliced

cilantro and sesame seeds for garnish

1. To make dressing: combine zest, ginger, honey, cayenne pepper and salt in food processor and process until smooth. Add lemon juice, rice vinegar and shoyu and pulse to combine. Then add in the oils and pulse. 

2. Cook the soba noodles until just tender then drain and rinse under cold water.

3. While the pasta is cooking, drain the tofu, pat it dry and cut into rectangles  roughly the size of your thumb. Cook in a dry nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes until the pieces are browned on one side. Toss a couple of times until the tofu is firm, golden and bouncy.

4. In a large bowl, combine the soba, 1/4 cup cilantro, green onions, cucumber and dressing. Add the tofu and  toss gently. Serve garnished with cilantro and sesame seeds.