Family Fun Asian Noodle Salad with Sesame Tofu Bites

I was fortunate growing up that I lived in a large city with multiple ethnic and natural food markets. My mother constantly exposed me to new foods and I was lucky to have a wide base of family friends that cooked various delicious ethnic foods. When I first moved to the state of West Virginia I was exposed to a number of new foods and ways of cooking that I hadn't experienced previously. It took me a good bit of time before I felt comfortable making pinto beans and pan fried chicken. After almost 9 years, these foods have become almost second nature for me to cook and I have been trying to now introduce my children to a larger variety of dishes. One of the staples in my house growing up was tofu, it was inexpensive and easily available. I have only exposed my children to tofu less than a handful of times, so I figured it was about time to start trying to incorporate more tofu into their diets. The August issue of Family Fun magazine had a recipe for Asian Noodle Salad with Sesame Tofu Bites, which looked perfect for my children to try tofu.

This recipe has 12 ingredients for the salad and 7 for the dressing. The total time is one hour 20 minutes, with an hour being active. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. Instead of using sugar snap peas by the pound, I used a refrigerated pouch, since that was what was available locally. I made a few modifications to the recipe. I let the tofu sit under the weight for longer than 5 minutes. When frying tofu I like to try to get as much water out as possible, so I let it sit approximately 15 minutes. Additionally, I fried my tofu in batches and then added all the batches back into the same pan to add the dressing. This way all the tofu turned out crisp, not soggy. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My husband and I both loved this dish. The crispy tofu bites were delicious and the dressing complimented the dish nicely. My two boys weren't as enthusiastic, and picked around eating mostly the noodles. For only having had tofu a couple of times, the fact that they didn't completely disregard the dish is progress. I appreciated that this dish was easy to make and vegetarian, I have been trying to make at least meatless meal a week. Overall, this recipe is easy to put together and a delicious way to incorporate more tofu and . 

For the recipe go to Family Fun Asian Noodle Salad with Sesame Tofu Bites.