Shiitake Miso Soba Noodles

For the stir-fry:
An hour before you want to begin cooking, drain tofu, cut into bite-sized cubes, pat dry, and leave it on the counter. This will allow tofu some time to dry out a little, which will make it easier to brown. If you don’t have time do this, don’t sweat it. It will still taste good if you take it directly from the package to the pan.

Heat sesame oil and peanut oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu cubes and cook, stirring every few minutes, until tofu cubes are brown on all sides. Add soy sauce and dry garlic to pan, and then saute an additional minute. This will flavor the tofu. Set tofu aside in a dish.

While tofu is cooking, cut cored red pepper into long strips. Add red pepper to hot skillet. There is no need to add additional oil, as there will be some remaining from tofu. Sauté pepper until it just begins to soften and brown, then remove it from pan to a dish and set aside.

While red pepper is cooking, work on cutting shiitake mushrooms into long strips. Add shiitake mushrooms strips to pan. Sauté until mushrooms begin to soften, brown a little, and release some water. Do not overcook, as this variety of mushroom can become rubbery if cooked too long.

While mushrooms are cooking, heat the water in a large pot over high heat, and bring to a boil. Once water is boiling, cook soba noodles at a hard boil per package directions. Then drain and rinse with cold water. Rinsing with cold water will keep noodles from continuing to cook and will prevent them from sticking to each other.

Return cooked vegetables and tofu to skillet, including tatsoi or spinach. Cook at medium-low heat until greens are wilted and vegetables are reheated.

For the sauce:
While vegetables are heating, whisk together all stir-fry sauce ingredients, except miso, in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer on medium heat. Simmer 2 minutes, then remove from heat. Once sauce is off heat, whisk in white miso. The reason for this is the less you cook miso, the more you’ll preserve it’s probiotic quality.

Add noodles and stir fry sauce to skillet on medium-low heat until heated through, without bringing to a simmer. Once heated, sprinkle with sesame seed and fresh green onions.