Carrot, kimchi and tofu noodle salad
easy cooking for these transitional days
Welcome to To Vegetables, With Love, a celebration of a vegetable life, less ordinary. ‘ Find archived recipes on my recipe index.
This week’s recipe is unlocked for paid subscribers. Last day of my Spring sale - I’m offering 20% off all yearly subscriptions until June 9, 2025.
June is a transitional month for me. I actually wrote about it in my upcoming book LINGER. It’s one of the twelve essays in the book, written in real time, like streams of consciousness. The writing in the book is different to that in my other books; its more rhythmic, free spirited, rambling. The writing captures a moment in time, intimate thoughts on food, family, identity, language, immigration and….fruitcake. Yes, true story! In case you are wondering, I am pro-fruitcake and I make my case in Chapter 12.
It is early days in the LINGER preorder campaign and it’s hard to know what or how much to share about the book. If you have questions, please ask in comments or email me.
There’s a lot to unpack about this book. It’s my sixth cookbook and while some may assume that by now, a new book doesn’t feel special, for me, the opposite is true. It feels more….everything. My work has evolved, and I believe I am a better recipe developer, better writer, better thinker. I have heard people say that your first book should be your best, but I think that every book you write should show growth and lessons that you have learnt from the book before and the book before that. If that theory is true, then Linger is my best book yet. And my next book after that, whatever that is, will be even better.
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Back to June. Busy school days morph into long, languid ones. My house feels full and I feel the strain of juggling of work and family more so than ever. I struggle to stay focused. Cooking really becomes about ease, using ingredients already in my pantry. This carrot and kimchi noodle dish satisfies this criteria.
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This week’s salad uses a tofu cooking technique which I shared in Tenderheart - boiling it in salted water. Boiling extra firm tofu changes its texture, drawing out some of the existing liquid and then infusing it with the salted water. The tofu becomes even bouncier and ready to absorb flavor.
I used sweet potato starch noodles as I wanted a dish that is reminiscent of japchae. Noodles made with starch are bouncy, stretchy and add incredible texture to salads. There are many varieties on the market, and often, they are sold under the umbrella of glass noodles. Apart from sweet potato or potato starch noodles, there are also noodles made of tapioca starch (these are even chewier), and mung bean starch (often sold as bean threads, or bean vermicelli). Any variety would work in this salad.
Everywhere else, it is also available, so google to find local retailers.
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