This afternoon we were debating whether to get takeaway noodles or make our own tonight. We decided we would eat more vegetables if we made our own, plus at least we would know what was in it. So we went to the local asian market at Darra and bought all the ingredients. I found heaps of vegan brands of Asian products that I would usually buy from the health food shop and they were much cheaper. The only thing is that I had to check the expiry date of everything very carefully. They just have so much stock, so I guess its hard to keep track of.
I’ve never tried mong toi before. It was the freshest asian green they had. It is also known as malabar spinach, Ceylon spinach, and climbing spinach. It has a nice flavor and has a bit of sap in the leaves, but you won’t notice it. I decided to use soba noodles, since I felt like something different. I’m not sure if the Soyco Honey Soy Tofu, that I got from Woolworths, was vegan. I made more sauce, so if you don’t get flavored tofu you could always make a double batch of that. I had some chicken stock left over, so I soaked the shiitake mushrooms in that. If you don’t have any at hand just soak in water, then add the water to the stir-fry. As for the vegetables anything goes. I always like to have onion, garlic and ginger to start with and add whatever I have in the fridge.
‘Honey’ Soy Tofu and Vegetable Soba Noodles (vegan, nut free)
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 garlic cloves
1 nob of ginger
1 onion
1 carrot
10 snake beans
1 zucchini
handful of shiitake mushrooms
1/4 cup vegan chicken liquid stock (optional)
bunch of mong toi or asian greens
1x packet of honey soy flavored tofu
soba noodles or other noodles
Ingredients for sauce:
2 tablespoons mushroom soy
1 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons agave
1 tablespoons lemon juice
Method:
1. First prepare all the vegetables and tofu. Dice the garlic and ginger. Slice the onion and cut the carrots julienne. Cut the zucchini and snack beans. 
Dice the stems of the mong toi and slice the leaves. Soak the skiitake mushrooms in stock or water (just enough to cover). Cut the tofu in cubes.
2. Boil water and cook the soba noodles and put to side.
3. In the meantime, prepare the sauce. Just combine the ingredients in a small bowl.
4. Heat coconut oil in the wok. Then add the onion, garlic, ginger and carrot (I don’t like the carrot crunch). Cook for 3-4 mins or till onions are browned.
5. Then add the snake beans, zucchini, stems of mong toi, shiitake mushrooms, soaking stock/water and sauce. Cook for 3 mins or until tender.
6. Add tofu and mong toi leaves. Cook for 2-3 mins or until the leaves go limp.
7. Lastly, add the noodles and heat through before serving.
*Serves 3-4
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