My family has fond memories of the teriyaki noodle bowls from a local restaurant that closed years ago. Not only did they serve meat choices, but they offered perfectly grilled tofu, too. It was crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.  Topping it off was a luscious, thick teriyaki sauce.

After a recent, nostalgic discussion of these noodle bowls, I decided to try and recreate it. It took a few attempts with the sauce, but I finally got it right. Of course, me being me, I made the noodles, too.

TERIYAKI TOFU NOODLE BOWLS – serves about 3

• about 21 oz extra firm tofu
• 1 T sesame seeds, lightly toasted
• 3 carrots, cut into matchsticks
• 3 stalks celery, sliced in 1/4″ pieces
• 5 scallions – green & white parts, sliced into 1/4″ pieces
• 3 cups broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup teriyaki sauce (recipe follows)
• about 6 oz purchased soba noodles, or homemade (recipe follows)
• about 3 T vegetable oil

Drain tofu blocks and press between 2 plates to extrude water for about 30 minutes. Set something with a little weight on top of the upper plate to speed up the process. Pour off water as it accumulates.

Preheat oven to 200º Fahrenheit.

Slice tofu into 1/2″ thick pieces. The thickness is important – too thin and the tofu can easily become rubbery. Then cut into the size you like. I prefer my pieces to be about 1″ x 1½” x 1/2″. Liberally coat a nonstick skillet with oil. Heat oil over medium/high until shimmering. Add in tofu and leave undisturbed for at least a minute before moving them. (I suggest using a splatter screen to reduce fallout.) When the tofu is browned on the bottom, flip and cook the other side. Remove to a baking sheet and leave in the preheated oven to keep warm until the veggies and noodles are cooked.

Heat the teriyaki sauce. (Recipe below)

Insert a steamer basket into a pot with 1/2″ water at the bottom and place carrots, celery, scallions, and broccoli. Cover and turn heat to high. Immediately set timer and steam for 3 minutes. Remove veggies to a large bowl. Bring 2 quarts of water to a full boil. Add noodles (recipe follows) and cook until done – about 5 minutes for homemade. Drain and add noodles to bowl with veggies.

Add in the tofu, sesame seeds, and as much teriyaki sauce as you like. Mix all together and serve in bowls.

TERIYAKI SAUCE – make 1½ cups

• 2½ T cornstarch
• 4 T (2 oz) Mirin sweet cooking rice wine
• 1 cup (8¼ oz) low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp ginger powder (fresh is best)
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 cup (6 oz) dark brown sugar

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until thickened.

Store unused teriyaki sauce in refrigerator for future use.

NOODLES – makes 3 servings

Note: If you don’t have buckwheat flour, then use 8½ oz (2 cups) all-purpose flour

Additional note: There are many excellent youtube videos demonstrating how to make pasta. It’s very helpful to see it being done.

• 2½ oz (1/2 cup) buckwheat flour
• 7½ oz (1½ cups) all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 T olive oil
• water, as needed

Place the flours, eggs, and olive oil in the food processor with steel blade in place. Process to blend. Check the consistency of the dough – it will probably be too dry at this point. You want it to not fall apart when squeezed. Add a couple of tablespoons of water to start. Process about 15 seconds and check consistency. Add water a small amount at a time until dough holds together and is tacky but not sticky. (If you add too much water, just sprinkle in more flour.) The pictures show me making spinach fettuccine, but the idea is the same. Form dough into 4 balls and place in the processor with lid. Let rest for at least 30 minutes. Using a hand crank pasta machine, roll out dough to one setting thicker than for normal fettuccine (it’s #4 setting on my Atlas machine). Use the fettuccine blades to cut.