Name: Red Pepper Chili Crisp Noodles
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 10 oz package (284 g) extra firm tofu or high protein tofu; Avocado oil, white pepper, and kosher salt for baking the tofu; 2 bundles (180g) ramen or udon noodles*; 3 large sweet red peppers, thinly sliced into long strips (95 g sliced); 1/2 small Fresno pepper, thinly sliced or minced, without seeds** (15 g sliced); 3 large scallions, thinly sliced on a bias (60 g sliced); 3 cloves garlic, microplaned or finely grated (2 tsp); 2-inch piece ginger, microplaned or finely grated (2 tsp); Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish; 3 tbsp (40 g) soy sauce; 3 tbsp (45 g) coconut aminos; 2 tbsp (36 g) honey (coconut sugar or brown sugar are great subs); 2 tbsp (30 g) toasted sesame oil; 2 tsp chili crisp; 2 tsp rice vinegar or chinese cooking wine

Description

These sweet and spicy red pepper chili crisp noodles are the perfect cozy weeknight dish to welcome fall while still making use of end-of-summer produce. It uses copious amounts of sweet red peppers and scallions!

Ingredients

Scale

Ingredients

1 10 oz package (284 g) extra firm tofu or high protein tofu
Avocado oil, white pepper, and kosher salt for baking the tofu
2 bundles (180g) ramen or udon noodles*
3 large sweet red peppers, thinly sliced into long strips (95 g sliced)
1/2 small Fresno pepper, thinly sliced or minced, without seeds** (15 g sliced)
3 large scallions, thinly sliced on a bias (60 g sliced)
3 cloves garlic, microplaned or finely grated (2 tsp)
2-inch piece ginger, microplaned or finely grated (2 tsp)
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Chili Crisp Sauce

3 tbsp (40 g) soy sauce
3 tbsp (45 g) coconut aminos
2 tbsp (36 g) honey (coconut sugar or brown sugar are great subs)
2 tbsp (30 g) toasted sesame oil
2 tsp chili crisp
2 tsp rice vinegar or chinese cooking wine

Instructions

Bake the tofu. Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a sheet pan with parchment. Chop the tofu into small cubes, dump onto the tray, generously season with kosher salt, white pepper, and avocado oil and toss together. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden and crisp. NOTE: I typically air-fry the tofu in my toaster oven – it turns out a bit crispier than baking it in the oven.
Cook the noodles. While the tofu bakes, boil the noodles until soft but still firm. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
Prep the sauce. Add all of the chili crisp sauce ingredients into a bowl and set aside.
Prep the veggies. Thinly slice the red pepper, fresno pepper (if you’re using it) and the scallions. Separate the sliced scallions into two piles – the green tops and the white bottoms. The white bottoms need to be sauteed with the peppers and the green tops are best left for stirring in at the end.
Saute the veggies and sauce. Dump the peppers, fresno peppers, bottoms of the scallions, ginger and garlic into a large pan/wide pot along with a generous drizzle of avocado oil. Saute over medium heat until the peppers are soft. Pour in the chili crisp sauce, increase the heat to high, and let the sauce bubble for 10-15 seconds – it needs to boil a bit so the sugars can caramelize and naturally thicken the sauce.
Toss everything together. Lastly, add in the crispy tofu, cooked noodles, scallion tops, and a generous amount of toasted sesame seeds. Toss together, adjust for salt, and serve immediately. NOTE: I like to top the individual bowls with extra chili crisp!

Notes

*If you prefer your noodles on the saucier side, use a little less ramen, about 150g instead.

**This dish is already fairly spicy with the chili crisp, so only add the pepper if you love heat!