Name: Miso Mushroom Noodles
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 10 oz or 284g extra firm tofu, torn into bite-size pieces; Avocado oil and white pepper for baking; 2 bundles (180g) ramen noodles; 120g or 4.2 oz shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced; 1 Fresno pepper, de-seeded and thinly sliced (15g); 3-4 large scallions (80g sliced); Toasted sesame seeds; 4 tbsp (44g) liquid aminos or low sodium soy sauce; 4 tbsp (60g) coconut aminos; 2 tbsp (20g) chinese cooking wine; 2 tbsp (16g) coconut sugar or brown sugar; 1 tbsp (22 g) white miso paste; 1 tbsp chili crisp (adjust this depending on spice tolerance); Diamond Crystal kosher salt; Mixed wild mushrooms (like oyster, shiitake, or whatever you have on hand); Avocado oil and kosher salt

These miso mushroom noodles are loaded with browned shiitake mushrooms, scallions, crispy tofu, and tossed in a umami-rich sweet miso soy sauce. It’s one of my favorite weeknight dinners!

Besides tasting phenomenal, it also has all the important stuff, like veggies, protein, and fiber.

Miso Mushroom Noodle Ingredients

Extra firm tofu: Highly recommend Hodo Foods extra-firm tofu. Extra-firm tofu (or high-protein tofu) is tofu that’s already been pressed to remove any excess water. Which means denser, meatier tofu that holds its shape and is ideal for stir-fry! Plus, because it’s already pressed, it has a higher protein content than regular tofu.
Ramen noodles: Love the ramen noodles from Hakubaku.
Shiitake mushrooms: Feel free to use whatever mushrooms you have on hand.
Scallions
Fresno peppers (optional): This dish is already fairly spicy with the chili crisp, so only add the pepper if you love heat!
Liquid aminos or low-sodium soy sauce
Coconut aminos: Yes, you need both soy sauce or liquid aminos and coconut aminos. Liquid aminos are a stand-in for soy sauce and can be used as a 1:1 swap. Coconut aminos, on the other hand, is made by aging coconut tree sap, which yields a product that looks like soy sauce, but has a much glossier (almost syrup-like) texture – the flavor profile is a lot sweeter with caramel notes!
Clear Chinese rice cooking wine: I used the clear Chinese rice cooking wine from Yu Yee, which Whole Foods now sells. Shaoxing wine would also work if you have that on hand. More on Chinese rice wine below!
Coconut sugar or brown sugar
White miso paste: White miso is a type of miso that ferments for a short period of time, resulting in a mild, delicate flavor that’s perfect for this dish.
Chili crisp: Use your favorite!
Toasted sesame seeds
White pepper
Avocado oil
Kosher salt

Chinese Rice Wine 101

Chinese rice wine is ubiquitous to Chinese cuisine and is a staple ingredient in many Chinese dishes. It’s essentially a cooking wine made from rice, used for deglazing and adding depth and complexity to sauces, broths, etc. The most popular variety is Shaoxing wine, which is a dark brown color and used across the board. Another variety is mi jiu (aka rice wine), which is clear and colorless, and has a clearer, lighter flavor than Shaoxing wine. I used clear Chinese rice wine in this noodle dish as it’s what I had on hand, but Shaoxing wine will also work as a substitute.

Quick note on the alcohol in Chinese rice wine: most recipes (including this one) use very little and cook it long enough to cook off most of the alcohol.

Method

Bake the tofu

Start with baking the tofu. Tear the tofu into bite-size pieces and dump onto a parchment lined sheet pan. Drizzle with a generous amount of avocado oil, and sprinkle with white pepper and kosher salt, toss to coat. Bake at 450°F until golden-brown and crisp, about 20-25 minutes. I typically use my Breville smart oven on the air-fry setting to get the tofu extra crisp. NOTE: Tearing as opposed to cutting the tofu creates more craggly edges which equals more crisp!

Mise en Place

In parallel, prep the mushrooms, aromatics, and sauce (aka mise en place). I like to keep the mushrooms, greens and whites of the scallions, and fresno peppers, in separate piles on my board next to the stove to make the frying process super streamlined.

*slice the scallions, pepper, and mushrooms lengthwise so they meld into the noodles better*

Saute the Mushrooms

Next, saute the mushrooms in a medium pan or braiser. Let the mushrooms cook on medium heat, undisturbed, for a few minutes to brown, then stir. Continue cooking the mushrooms until browned and half their size.

Boil the noodles

In parallel, while the mushrooms cook, boil the ramen noodles until al dente. I like to take them out a little before al dente since they’ll cook in the sauce a bit. And nothing is more sad than mushy noodles.

Finish the noodles

Throw in the whites of the scallions and fresno peppers, and saute for an additional minute. Dump the sauce into the pan and let it reduce on medium heat to thicken and cook off the rice cooking wine. Lower the heat to low, dump in the cooked ramen noodles, crispy tofu, greens of the scallions, and a generous amount of toasted sesame seeds. Toss together to coat everything in the sauce.

Divide among two bowls (or save half for a meal the next day) and top with more chili crisp and sesame seeds.

Optional Crispy Mushrooms

This is totally optional – but if you have extra mushrooms on hand, I like to tear them, toss with a generous amount of avocado oil, and crisp them in the oven at 450°F for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. They become a delicious crispy mushroom topping for these noodles.

*tearing the mushrooms (especially varieties like oyster mushrooms) yields a more craggly crispy texture when baked*

Riffing Off This Recipe

The great thing about this noodle dish is that it’s a great base recipe to riff off. The only key to this dish is the sauce, scallions, and noodles. Feel free to swap out the tofu for a protein of choice (like chicken or beef). And you can also use julienned carrots, bell pepper, or whatever veggies you have on hand.

So excited for you to make this dish! Please leave a starred rating and review – love hearing your feedback.