Tofu miso egg noodles, huh? Looks simple. No broth. Smells like salt and something older than the city. Miso’s deep. Fermented. Been waiting a long time to be tasted. Like most things around here. Tofu doesn’t fight back. Just absorbs whatever you put it in. Soy, heat, time. Becomes what the sauce tells it to be. Egg noodles got more backbone. Bite to ’em. They don’t dissolve. Not right away. It’s warm. Quiet. Doesn’t brag. Doesn’t try to be meat or mechanical. In a city built on artificial everything, it’s funny. The tofu tastes honest. Or maybe I just want it to.

White Dragon Noodles

Ingredients

1 12 oz package egg noodles
2 tbs miso dashi
2 tbs peanut butter (or almost empty peanut butter jar)
10 oz fresh sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 shallot
2 cloves garlic
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs chili garlic sauce
2 tbs ginger, microplaned
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
7 oz extra firm tofu
2 tbs toasted sesame seeds (plus 1 tsp more for garnish)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
4 chopped green onions

Directions

Prepare egg noodles per package instructions (reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid)
In a large saute pan over medium high heat add the oilve oil and add the mushrooms. Mince the shallot and garlic and add to the pan. Cook until the shallots become soft and translucent.
To your almost empty peanut butter jar, or small bowl add the peanut butter, add the chili garlic sauce, microplaned ginger, and toasted sesame oil with the reserved cooking liquid. Cap the peanut butter jar and shake, or if using a bowl whisk, to combine.
Cut the tofu into 1/4 inch cubes. Add the peanut butter liquid, tofu, and the cooked egg noodles to the saute pan with the chopped green onions and 2/3 of the chopped cilantro and toss to combine.
Plate the noodles and garnish with the extra 1/3 of the cilantro and toasted sesame seeds.
Serve.