Peanut butter noodles with perfectly crisp hoisin fried tofu. This is a lunch or dinner that is hearty, filling, and wonderfully flavorful. A full vegan meal in a bowl!
At a veg fest a while back, in panel after panel one question kept coming up in the Q&A’s. “But what about protein?”
It’s the cliché question that vegans have gotten since the beginning of time. I’m 99% sure it’s what the snake asked Eve in the Garden of Eden. (You know she & Adam were vegetarians before the apple fiasco, right? Look it up!)
And yet, it still took me by surprise.
With plant-based burgers popping up in restaurants and chains, and vegan cookbooks lining the shelves in mainstream stores like Target, it seems like veganism is everywhere.
So it was eye-opening that even with all of the press that veganism has been getting of late, that question remains. Without eggs, dairy, milk, or meat in a diet, where do vegans get protein?
In this post:
The High Protein Vegan Cookbook
In her newest cookbook, Ginny McMeans gives the long answer to that protein question.
The High-Protein Vegan Cookbook shows just how easy it is to meet daily protein requirements by eating a vegan diet with a variety of plant foods.
The book starts with a primer on protein, as well as highlighting some vegan protein heavy hitters – seitan, tofu, and tempeh. There’s a two-page chart with top vegan sources for protein.
And then it’s time for the recipes. There are 125 of them – all with beautiful, color photographs.
The recipes include appetizers, breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners. As well as a section on making your own seitan from scratch.
As a hardcore peanut butter fan, I had no choice but to make Ginny’s peanut butter noodles with fried hoisin tofu. (In the book, the recipe is listed as fried hoisin tofu with peanut sauce-touched udon.)
It brings some of my favorite flavors together – sticky peanut sauce, sweet & savory hoisin, crispy tofu, and udon noodles.
And as you’d probably guess, it is packed with protein too – 33 grams to be exact.
I’ve written before about my love for udon noodles – specifically the thick, frozen noodles found in Asian grocery stores.
(You can see the noodles I buy plus preparation tips in my cheesy vegan udon noodles recipe with Brussels sprouts. The noodles are also delicious in udon noodle soup with miso tahini broth.)
While the recipe in the High Protein Vegan Cookbook doesn’t call for those thicker frozen udon noodles specifically, that’s the kind I used.
A heads up on the timing
Don’t feel put off by the long preparation time of an hour and five minutes. For 30 minutes of that, you’re just marinating the tofu in hoisin and soy sauce. So in reality, you’ll only be in the kitchen for a little over a half hour.
The fried hoisin tofu is totally irresistible. I snacked on it while finishing the noodles. In fact, I wished I had more for leftovers the next day!
The hoisin sauce lends sweetness to the salty, umami-rich soy sauce. And a coating of cornstarch means the exterior is wonderfully crisp.
Step by step instructions
Here’s how to make this recipe at a glance. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.
- Marinate cubed tofu in hoisin sauce and soy sauce. (I used super firm vacuum packed tofu, so that I wouldn’t have to press it first. It’s one of my favorite vegan Trader Joe’s products. If you have water packed tofu, you’ll need to press it ahead of time.)
- After the tofu has marinated, remove it from the liquid, and coat it in cornstarch.
- Fry the tofu cubes in oil and set aside.
- Boil your udon noodles. (If you’re using frozen udon noodles, they will need less boiling time since they’re already fully cooked. Just follow package directions.)
- Add vegetable broth, soy sauce, and peanut butter to a saucepan. Combine. Then add the drained udon noodles to the peanut sauce. Throw in baby spinach, and cook until it wilts.
- Remove from heat, divide noodles between two bowls, and pile them up with tofu. Dive in!
If you try this recipe and love it, let me know! Leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comment section below. It truly makes my day and is such a help!
📖 Recipe
Peanut butter noodles with fried hoisin tofu
Ingredients
- ½ cup hoisin sauce
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce divided
- 8 ounces extra-firm tofu drained, pressed, and cubed*
- ¼ cup cornstarch or potato starch + more if necessary
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 7 ounces packaged organic udon noodles**
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons vegetable broth
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- 5 ounces baby spinach
Instructions
- Mix the hoisin and 2 tablespoons soy sauce in a small bowl. Add the cubed tofu, toss, and let marinate for 30 minutes.
- Place the cornstarch on a large plate. Remove the tofu from marinade and lay out on cornstarch, tossing to coat all sides. (Add more cornstarch/potato starch, if necessary.)
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the tofu to the hot oil and fry on all sides. Set aside.
- Fill a large saucepan with water and cover. Bring to a boil and add the udon. Cook for 5 minutes and drain. Set aside.
- Add the broth, peanut butter, and remaining 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce to the same saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and cook for 2 minutes, then add the udon back into the pan. Coat the udon with the sauce. Add the spinach to the pot and stir into the sauce and noodles. Continue cooking, on low, for about 3 minutes until the spinach wilts.
- Remove from the heat and divide between two bowls. Place half of the tofu on top of each bowl of udon. Drizzle the remaining hoisin mixture over the top.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of the High Protein Vegan Cookbook for review.
Samara
*SWOON* this recipe is heaven for someone like me who loves both noodles and peanut butter with the power of the sun!! The hoisin tofu is utterly delish too. Perfection!!
Heather Siemens
I made this dish and it was very good. The tofu turned out amazing (my kids loved it!), and I added some extra broth and a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar to the peanut sauce to thin it out a bit (for my personal preference). I will definitely make again.
This may be a silly question – are the 968 kcals per serving, or overall?
Thanks
Cadry
I’m so glad your kids loved the tofu! Rice wine vinegar sounds like a great addition. I thought I might try that next time too, and maybe some sriracha.
The calorie count is per serving. Although, I just checked, and the hoisin sauce aspect on the calorie counter was higher than the brand I used. It’s still about 870 calories per serving, though.
One thing that’s tough with recipes that use a variety of products – there are so many variables that will differ person by person. The highest calorie aspects for this dish are the noodles and the peanut butter. The frozen udon noodles I used for this recipe were 370 calories for the full recipe, but the dried udon noodles that this recipe calls for (which is what I listed in the recipe card above) are around 600 calories for the full recipe.
So depending on the specific noodles that you buy, your counts may well vary.
Heather
Thanks for the detailed response Cadry!
Lauren
The tofu is delicious, but the peanut butter sauce is a little much for me (and I love peanut butter). I will probably use the hoisin marinade again, but not the rest of the recipe.
Cadry
That’s too bad that the peanut sauce wasn’t to your liking. I’m glad the tofu worked out at least.
Dianne
Peanut butter sauce, tofu, and noodles is pretty much my ultimate meal, so this dish is on my meal list for the week. I rarely cook with udon noodles, but I do love them, so I need to change that ASAP!
Cadry
Excellent, you’re going to love it, Dianne!
Becky Striepe
Ooh these look ah-mazing! I love hoisin anything, and combining it with peanut sauce is genius!
Cadry
I agree, hoisin always makes me happy. I need to use it more often!
Jackie
You had me at peanut butter! YUM!
Cadry
Those are my two magic words too!
Ginny McMeans
Thank you so much for the lovely review Cadry. I actually agree. 8 ounces of tofu is better. 🙂 I’ll have to try frozen udon noodles. You’re the best!
Cadry
I got your note about the cookbook listing 4 ounces of tofu being a typo. So I updated the post/recipe box to show 8 ounces instead. Thanks for letting me know! Definitely keep your eye open for frozen udon noodles. That chewier texture is really good in your already tasty dish! 🙂