Spicy Soba Noodle and Avocado Salad with Pan Grilled Tofu

Yes, I know.....this is the 4th time I've blogged a variation of this!! There are a few reasons for this, 1 - I originally made this in the early days of this blog and feel it's probably gotten 'lost' 2 - I have made a few more changes, 3 - I now take better pictures and 4 - it's just that damn good!!!

I absolutely love this salad (can you tell?) and when I first made this I followed the recipe as is but didn't like the cucumber or spring onions with it too much. So the second time I just had it with avocado figuring it's cool creaminess would go so well with the spicy dressing. Then I had the idea of marinating tofu in the yummy dressing and found it to be the best tofu I have ever had - and I stand by that!

So this time I thought I would marinate the tofu in the dressing as I wasn't overly keen on the plainness of the original tofu and keep the salad simple with just avocado. I also removed the salt from the dressing, with the soy sauce in there it doesn't need it. Further I have found it much easier to finely grate the ginger instead of faffing about with a food processor. Faffing? is that a word?? Anyway, this is now perfection for me, nice and spicy with the avocado providing just enough cooling and that tofu - drool. Like last time the recipe for the dressing/marinade here makes a lot, more than you need for a couple salads but it keeps in the fridge nicely :)

Dressing and Marinade:
Zest of 1 lemon
35g of peeled fresh ginger
1 Tbsp caster sugar
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp sesame oil

Grate the ginger finely and add to a bowl with the lemon zest. Whisk in the sesame and veg oils then slowly whisk in the lemon juice and rice vinegar. Whisk in the rest.

Soba Noodle Salad: serves 2
115g dry weight soba noodles
125g firm tofu, pressed, preferably use previously frozen and thawed tofu as this gives the best texture in the dish.
1 hass avocado, thinly sliced
2 tsp black sesame seeds, or regular sesame seeds lightly toasted.

Take your pressed tofu, cut into 8 thin triangles and place in a shallow bowl. Cover with the marinade and let sit for 15 minutes. Cook the soba noodles according to package directions then drain well and rinse under cold water until cool. Set aside to drain well. Heat up a grill pan and brush with some peanut oil, fry the tofu until nicely griddled on both sides. Toss the cold noodles with about 2Tbsp of the dressing (whisk before measuring) and place on plates. Top with the sliced avocado and place the tofu around the plate. Spoon about 1 Tbsp more dressing per plate over top the avocado and noodles then sprinkle on the sesame seeds. Place leftover dressing in the fridge for future use.