Josh’s garlic-tamari noodles

I shamelessly stole this quick & easy recipe from Josh, OSG, at Pharyngula.

Quick recipe (tonight’s supper). This one is versatile:

1. It’s yummy to almost everyone.

2. It’s vegan, so anyone can eat it, but meat eaters like it.

3. It makes a huge batch, and it’s just as good (maybe better) cold, so you can take several days off cooking.

Add or subtract exotic ingredients according to your taste and pantry.

Garlic Tamari Noodles

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound fettucini
1 to 1 and 1/2 pounds extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes
2 tbsps. grated fresh ginger (dried will do)
3 scallions, diced, including the green and the white parts
2 tbsp. sesame seeds (optional)

1. Mince garlic and stir into olive oil to infuse (adding sesame seeds if used). Press tofu to drain water, then cut up. Combine grated ginger and tamari (soy) to steep. Add cubed tofu to tamari, tossing every few minutes.
2. Meanwhile, boil fettucine just until al dente (it must be quite firm to be pleasing in this recipe). Drain, then immediately soak in cold water to chill. Drain again, then toss with a bit of olive oil. Put in refrigerator.
3. Heat a large, open pan (a chicken fryer is ideal) very hot, then add tofu and tamari mixture. Heat through, stirring, for about two minutes. Then add the olive oil/garlic/sesame seed mixture, stirring to combine. Heat just long enough to soften garlic slightly, but not long enough to take away all its bite.
4. Transfer tofu to wide bowl, then chill in refrig.
5. When everything is cold, combine tofu with fettucine and toss gently. Taste, then add additional tamari or olive oil if it needs it. Toss with diced scallions and serve immediately, or return to fridge until ready.
6. Optional veggie addition – chopped bok choy or broccoli, flash fried in a very hot pan until tender-crisp (then chilled) is a nice addition.

Yes, you could add chicken or some other meat, but it really is better with tofu.