Stir-Fried Rice Noodles with Vegetables (Phở Xào Chay)

Eating too much meat during the week made me think about making this dish. In Vietnam, rice or rice noodles are part of the main meal. Bánh Phở is rice noodles with two sizes, small and large. I like to use the larger size of this noodle to make stirfry. Where I live, I cannot get the fresh rice noodles, but the dry one is fine. Most Vietnamese recipes for this dish use the dark green leaf called "Cải Ngồng", but I use whatever vegetables are on hand. In the springtime, the asparagus is a very good vegetable to use for this recipe. This dish can be made in less than thirty minutes and gives a satisfied feeling with all the protein and fiber that is needed for a meal.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. dry rice noodles, soaked in water
1 block of firm tofu, about 8 oz.
1/2 tsp salt and black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 shallots, sliced
1/4 cup oil
Sauce:
1/2 cup water
2 tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs tamarin juice or lemon juice
2 tsp sugar
1 tbs rice wine
Vegetables:
1 carrot, julienned
1 cup green beans, cut into 2 inch lengths
5 asparagus, cut diagonally
1 cup baby spinach
1/2 cup broccoli
1/2 cup white onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
Garnish:
Bunch of chives (cut into 2 inch lengths), cilantro, and some mints
fresh tomatoes
Directions:

After soaking dry noodles until soft, drain in a colander to dry off.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Combine salt, black pepper, and cayenne in a small bowl. Rub the spices over the tofu (you can skip this step – I like to flavor the tofu).

In a sauté pan, add 1/4 cup of oil. Add the sliced shallots to the oil and fry until crispy. Remove the crispy shallots and set aside.

Fry the tofu until golden brown. Let cool completely before slicing the tofu.

Bring a small pot of  lightly salted water to boil. Blanch all the vegetables except the baby spinach.

Quickly submerge the cooked vegetables into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking and preserve the bright green color.

Using a wok or large sauté pan, heat the shallot oil. Add the white onions and garlic and cook until fragrant.

Add soaked noodles and add half of the sauce to soften the noodles. Add some extra soy sauce at this point to the noodles, if needed.

Return all the blanched vegetables, spinach, fried tofu, and the rest of the sauce.

Add chives and mix well.

 Place noodles on a serving plate. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and mints. Crushed roasted peanuts can be served on top too.