Sweet and Spicy Asian Noodle Bowl with Hoisin Baked Crunchy Tofu

Vegan and vegetarian garlic noodles tossed in a simple, homemade sweet and spicy sauce, topped with crispy oven baked tofu with a delicious coating of caramelized hoisin sauce giving it a crunchy texture from the outside, yet, chewy and soft from inside.

After posting this super basic recipe for how to cook tofu in the oven, I am excited to share with you one of my favorite and interesting ways to use baked tofu in a very quick and easy main dish, that is ready in less than 30 minutes and is perfect if you are looking for healthy vegan and vegetarian options for lunch or dinner or something to add to your meatless Monday meals.

Sweet and spicy spaghetti noodles that are cooked al dente, then tossed in a luscious, velvety sauce made of soy sauce, honey (or maple syrup) and a little bit of chilli sauce – giving you a naturally creamy, sticky, rich and delicious texture, with that extra garlicky flavor, plus a generous serving of (6 cubes each!) crunchy baked tofu that is covered with hoisin sauce and sesame seeds.

Made with basic pantry staples & probably the easiest vegan and simple noodle bowl recipe in the world (followed by these 10-minute peanut sauce noodles), this recipe for Asian style noodles has become one of my favorite things to cook on a busy night, specially, when I just want to make a quick and easy vegetarian and vegan meal with just basic kitchen essentials.

How to make Sweet and Spicy Asian Noodles with Hoisin Baked Crunchy Tofu

Ingredients for Sweet and Spicy Asian Noodles

1. Noodles – Any kind. I use spaghetti in my recipe, but rice noodles, or any pasta or even regular egg noodles or the ones you use for chow mein or lomein or Asian noodles are great for this recipe.
2. Oil – For the base, for the garlic to cook a little. I used olive oil for the recipe, but sesame oil is the best choice, plus it adds more flavor to the sticky sweet and spicy sauce.
3. Garlic – Pretty sure you know me well enough by now, I like adding garlic to almost all my savory recipes. You just need it everywhere for that yummy flavor. We are adding a tablespoon of chopped garlic to hot oil before we add the sauces.
4. Soy Sauce – For the umami flavor – I have tried and tested this recipe with both: light soy sauce, as well as dark soy sauce and personally love it more with dark soy, plus you get that extra dark color on the noodles.
5. Honey – For the natural sweetness, make it vegan by adding maple syrup or use sugar if you want.
6. Chilli Sauce – Sriracha is my best choice, but any kind of hot sauce or just regular red chilli paste is also okay.

Method for Sweet and Spicy Asian Noodles

• Start by cooking noodles as per package instructions and just al dente. 
• In a large pan, add oil and garlic and let cook for a few seconds. 
• Add the noodles, soy sauce, honey, chilli sauce (Sriracha), salt and pepper.
• Mix well until the noodles are well coated in the garlicy, sweet, spicy, sticky, Asian sauce. 
• Add some chopped spring onions if you like. Mix well.

How to make hoisin baked tofu?

Ingredients for Crunchy Oven Baked Hoisin Tofu:

1. Tofu: One block of firm or extra firm tofu – easily available in super markets or local dairy stores (in India)
2. Salt & Pepper: For a little bit of seasoning to make it flavorful.
3. Corn starch or corn flour: For the crispy coating or crunchy texture.
4. Oil: Extra virgin olive oil, or any oil that you like to use.
5. Hoisin Sauce: For the caramelised sweet texture and more asian flavour in the recipe.
6. Sesame Seeds: White sesame seeds - toasted/ roasted or raw.

Method for Crunchy Oven Baked Hoisin Tofu

(For an elaborate blog post about how to cook tofu in the oven or how to bake crunchy tofu, click here for the detailed post and video)

• Cut the dry, moisture-free tofu block into chunks or cubes of your desired size. (Click here to check out the detailed post with tips on how to get rid of the moisture from tofu.)
• To a large mixing bowl, add tofu cubes, oil, corn flour (or corn starch) salt and pepper. Give it a gentle mix and transfer to a baking
• Transfer to the preheated oven and bake at 200 degrees for 25 minutes or until the tofu is browned up from the outside. Do not over-bake, as it will dry out completely.
• Transfer the golden brown crispy baked tofu to a mixing bowl and add hoisin sauce and sesame seeds. Mix well.

Assembling the Sweet and Spicy Asian Noodles Bowl with Hoisin Baked Crunchy Tofu

• Transfer the noodles to a bowl and add the hoisin covered/ coated crunchy oven baked tofu.
• Add some more spring onions, probably some toasted peanuts if you like and serve warm.

Possible variations or additions to the Sweet and Spicy Asian Noodle Bowl with Hoisin Baked Crunchy Tofu

• Add some grilled or oven roasted veggies
•  Add some crispy fried corn (perfectly caramelized in delicious Asian sauce)
• Add some grilled corn
• Add some homemade peanut butter sauce

More tofu recipes on the blog:

• Crispy crunchy oven baked tofu 
• Summer spring rolls with grilled tofu and veggies with homemade peanut dipping sauce
• Peanut sauce tofu and broccoli rice bowls

More easy noodle recipes:

• mushroom ramen noodles
• sesame rice noodles
• vegetarian hakka noodles
• vegetarian pad thai with mushrooms
• 10-minute peanut sauce noodles
• quick and easy brown butter garlic noodles with toasted breadcrumbs

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