Thai Peanut Tofu Noodles

Thai food is one of the most popular cuisines and one of my favorites too. Thai cuisine involves use of fresh ingredients and retains a unique flavor from all of its own. The essence of Thai food is all about balancing the flavors between sweet, sour, hot and salty. Thai cuisine is divided into five main culinary regions and each region have their own representative dishes. 

We are exploring the Northern Thai cuisine for this month’s International Food Challenge. Sangeetha of Nitha’s Kitchen is hosting this challenge and she chose some wonderful dishes from this region. From her choices, I made this Thai rice noodles with tofu and peanut sauce. The peanut sauce is the star of this dish – a nutty and creamy sauce with the perfect balance of spice, sweet and sour. If you love Thai food, you must definitely try this out.

Thai Peanut Tofu Noodles

Thai style rice noodles with tofu in a peanut sauce

Print Pin Recipe

Servings 4

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 250 grams flat rice noodles
• 200 grams cubed firm tofu
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• ¼ cup julienne carrots
• 4-5 green beans cut into 1″ pieces
• ¼ cup sliced capsicum
• 3 green onions sliced
• ½ cup bean sprouts
• A handful fresh basil roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp roasted peanuts
• Vegetable oil for stir-frying

For the peanut sauce

• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• ¼ cup water
• ⅓ cup dry-roasted peanuts unsalted
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1-2 red chillies chopped
• Salt to taste

Instructions

• Place tofu in a bowl and add soy sauce. Toss well and set aside to marinate for 10-15 minutes.
• In a blender or mixer add tamarind paste, peanuts, garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, red chillies, salt and water. Grind to a smooth and creamy sauce. Set aside.
• Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the rice noodles. Turn off the heat and let the noodles soak until edible but still firm and slightly crunchy. Drain and rinse in cold water.
• Heat a wok or pan and add 1 tbsp oil. Add the tofu cubes and fry until lightly browned. Set aside.
• In the same wok/pan, add ½ tbsp oil and add the carrot, beans and capsicum, Toss for 1-2 minutes and set aside.
• In the same wok/pan, add 2-3 tbsp oil and add the noddles. Stir-fry the noodles for 1 minute. Then add 3/4th of the peanut sauce and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
• Add tofu, bean sprouts, vegetables, basil and remaining sauce. Adjust the salt if necessary. Stir-fry until noodles are soft. Garnish with peanuts and green onions.

Notes

• If you don’t have rice noodles, you can substitute with linguine pasta or Chinese noodles.
• Do not to over cook the noodles in the beginning. They will break into pieces when stir-frying.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Thai

Keyword: Noodles Recipes