Vegan udon noodle soup with chilli lime roasted tofu

As a vegetarian, there are some things that are tricky to find good substitutes for. One of those, for me, is noodle soup or ramen. The broth in restaurants is often made with meat or bones, so I was super excited to make something at home that I knew would be healthy, delicious and meat-free (even vegan!).

The new veganism is about what you eat, not what you don’t eat. Credit: Rebecca Thexton

• serves

  2

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Tofu

• 300 g firm tofu, cubed and dried with paper towel
• juice of 1 lime
• zest of ½ lime
• 2 tbsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• pinch each salt and pepper
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Broth

• 60 g dried udon noodles
• 100 g mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp vegetable stock powder
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• pinch each salt and pepper

To serve

• large handful kale
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced, to garnish
• extra chilli flakes, optional
• lime slices, to garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Coat tofu in the lime juice, zest, dried chilli, garlic powder, salt and pepper and half the olive oil, place on a tray in the oven for 10 minutes. 

Whilst tofu is roasting, start your noodle broth. Bring 2 litres of water to the boil in a large pot over high heat. When the water is boiling, cook your udon noodles as per packet instructions in the boiling water. Once noodles are cooked (about 6-7 minutes), remove noodles with tongs and put into a strainer. 

Turn the pot's heat down to low and in the remaining hot water add the mushrooms, stock, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes. Steam the kale for 2 minutes over the pot while the water is simmering.

Meanwhile, remove the tofu from the oven. Turn each piece over, coat in extra oil, and place back in oven for a further 5-8 minutes. Once tofu is extra crispy, remove from oven.  

Add the noodles and kale to each serving bowl. Pour the broth over the noodles and top with the tofu, spring onion, extra chilli and lime. Enjoy!

Recipe from Dancing Through Sunday by Rebecca Thexton, with photographs by Rebecca Thexton.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.