Easy Family Weeknight Dinner and perfect for Meatless Mondays! This Easy Thai Vegetable Stir Fry with Tofu and Peanut Sauce is not spicy, so kids love it!
Get ready for a flavor explosion with this Easy Thai Vegetable Stir Fry with Tofu and Peanut Sauce! The sauce is nutty, tangy, salty, slightly sweet, and spicy with peanut butter, teriyaki, Thai red curry paste, sesame oil, and garlic! The tofu is seared for a perfect outside and creamy inside. The zucchini, peppers, and peanuts on top add crunch and texture. The noodles, well they let you slurp everything up perfectly! It’s irresistible!
This is perfect for a prep-ahead and last-minute-weeknight-cook dinner. The cooking only takes about 15 minutes, so most of the work is the prep for the tofu and the veggies.
MEATLESS MONDAYS!
I have said this before on the blog, but I love building themes into weekly meal planning. It makes dinners so much easier when you have a guide for what to cook. And one of my favorite themes is Meatless Mondays! The kids like it especially because they don’t have to eat meat. I like it because we all get more veggies and healthy plant-based proteins.
Thai Peanut Sauce Noodles are a great addition to my Meatless Monday repertoire. Here are some other meatless favorites to try!
- Broccoli Pesto Pasta Dinner
- Creamy Cajun Beans and Cauliflower over Quinoa
- Super Cheesy Cauliflower Rice
- Skillet Eggs in Spicy Tomato Pepper Sauce
- Mushroom and Black Bean Tostadas
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EQUIPMENT NEEDED
For this Thai Peanut Sauce Noodles Recipe, you will need a large skillet/frying pan for making the veggies and curry sauce. I use my absolute favorite 12″ Ceramic Pan, which is great because food really does slide right off with minimal oil and I don’t have to worry about food sticking and burning.
PREP-AHEAD STEPS FOR YOUR THAI PEANUT SAUCE NOODLES & TOFU
We are all extremely busy and making dinner during the week can be overwhelming. Here are steps you can prepare ahead to save time on busy nights! (See the full recipe below)
Since cooking only takes about 15 minutes, if you can do these steps a day ahead or even the morning of, you can have a super fast dinner!
Start with the tofu prep. Cut tofu into 1 inch square pieces and pour teriyaki sauce over to coat. Marinate in fridge for 15-30 minutes.
Slice red pepper into thin strips. Slice Zucchini into triangles about ¼-1/2 inch thick. Finely slice 1 tablespoon scallion greens for garnish, then rough chop remaining the scallions into ½ inch pieces. Peel and mince the garlic.
Make the sauce by measuring out 4 teaspoons of peanut butter and soften by either microwaving for 10 seconds or putting it in a glass container and submerging the bottom into hot water until softened. Once the peanut butter is softened enough to mix, add the Thai Red Curry Paste, teriyaki sauce, water, sesame oil, and minced garlic. Whisk to completely combine.
How many days ahead can I prep?
You can cut the tofu up to 4 days ahead and lay it on a paper towel lined dish. I would not marinate the tofu in the teriyaki more than 24 hours as it may start to break down and not sear nicely. You can prep the rest of the ingredients up to 4 days ahead.
What if I don’t have thai curry paste?
You can skip it all together and this dish will still taste great, but it really brings the thai and pepper component to the recipe. You could also replace it with a teaspoon of Harissa paste or red pepper paste.
COOK YOUR THAI PEANUT SAUCE NOODLES & TOFU
The rice noodles cook very quickly, so I like to start boiling the water, but then wait to put the noodles in until just before I want to add them to the pan. They only take a few minutes to soften and if they cook too long, then can get very mushy.
Preheat a large frying pan on medium-high heat and add 2 teaspoons olive oil. Drain the tofu pieces and pat dry, then add to the hot pan. Seared on all sides for 1-2 minutes each side. Remove the tofu to a plate and set aside.
Add another teaspoon of Olive oil to the pan, then add the zucchini, scallion, and red pepper to the pan. Let sear for 4 minutes, stir and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the sauce and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan.
Add the tofu pieces back with the drained noodles, then stir to combine. Cook for just enough time for everything to get hot. Serve and garnish with sliced scallions and chopped peanuts.
Can I make this ahead and reheat it?
Yes! This dish will reheat wonderfully, so go for it! To reheat it, you can either use the microwave or the stove. For the stove, try to find a large pan with enough surface area for everything to warm up on the pan rather than steam. You can add ¼ cup of water to loosen it up as it warms.
ENJOY! 😍 Carrie
Easy Thai Peanut Sauce Noodles with Tofu and Veggies
Ingredients
Tofu
- 14 oz Extra Firm Tofu or Super Firm
- ¼ cup Teriyaki Sauce
Peanut Sauce
- 4 teaspoon Peanut Butter
- 2 tablespoons Thai Red Curry Paste
- ⅔ cup Teriyaki Sauce
- 2 tablespoon Water
- 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
- 1 teaspoon Garlic minced (1 clove)
Other
- 1 Red Pepper
- 1 Zucchini medium
- 4 Scallions
- 3 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 6 oz Rice Noodles thin
- 2 tablespoons Chopped Peanuts
Instructions
Prep Ahead Steps
- Cut tofu into 1 inch square pieces and pour teriyaki sauce over to coat. Marinate in fridge for 15-30 minutes.
- Slice red pepper into thin strips. Slice Zucchini into triangles about ¼-1/2 inch thick.
- Finely slice 1 tablespoon scallion greens for garnish, then rough chop remaining the scallions into ½ inch pieces. Peel and mince the garlic.
- Make the sauce by measuring out 4 teaspoons of peanut butter and soften by either microwaving for 10 seconds or putting it in a glass container and submerging the bottom into hot water until softened. Once the peanut butter is softened enough to mix, add the Thai Red Curry Paste, teriyaki sauce, water, sesame oil, and minced garlic. Whisk with a fork to completely combine.
Cooking Steps
- Fill a medium pot with water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat on water and add the rice noodles to the hot water. Stir to submerge and remove once soft, about 3-5 minutes. Drain and then rinse with warm water (rice noodles are very starchy and you need to rinse off the excess starch).
- Preheat a large frying pan on medium-high heat and add 2 teaspoons olive oil. Drain the tofu pieces and pat dry, then add to the hot pan. Seared on all sides for 1-2 minutes each side. Remove the tofu to a plate and set aside
- Add another teaspoon of Olive oil to the pan, then add the zucchini, red pepper, and scallion to the pan. Let sear for 4 minutes, stir and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the Thai Peanut Sauce you made earlier and scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Add the tofu pieces back with the drained noodles, then stir to combine. Cook for just enough time for everything to get hot. Serve and garnish with sliced scallions and chopped peanuts.
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