garlic miso soba bowl

i was just looking through old posts while getting ready to write about last night's soba bowl and it is clear that i like soba. a lot. these delicious bowls of noodley goodness get way more attention than my equally beloved quinoa bowl creations, hmm.

after being in vacation diet mode in boston last weekend i was eager to get back into the kitchen on monday and get back into my dinner planning/cooking groove. we have a lot of miso in the fridge so i decided to make a sauce out of it and toss with some soba noodles that i saw peeking out from behind the bag of flour. from there i just went to the store and picked up what looked tasty.

garlic miso soba
ingredients:
for sauce:
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons water
1/2 tablespoon mirin
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon red miso
2 1/2 teaspoons vegetarian oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 bunches baby bok choy, stalks and leaves thinly sliced
1 bunch enoki mushrooms, chopped into 2 inch(ish) pieces
1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
6 ounces extra firm tofu, cut into slabs
2 tablespoons sherry (or mirin or sake)
1 tablespoons soy sauce
handful toasted slivered almonds

soba noodles, cooked according to package instructions.

saute garlic in 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil until fragrant and lightly browned. transfer to a small bowl and whisk together with the rest of the sauce ingredients. set aside.

after cooking the garlic, use the same pan to pan fry your tofu slabs a few minutes on each side until lightly browned and springy. remove from heat and once cool cut into small cubes. set aside.

add a little oil to a pan and saute the bok choy and enoki for a few minutes until they begin to soften. mix together the soy sauce and sherry and add to the pan. cook a few more minutes and remove from heat.

toss the cooked soba with the garlic miso sauce. divide into bowls and top with bok choy mixture, tofu, raw pepper and toasted almonds.

-d