October 1, 2021
Garlic Sesame Gochujang Noodles
Meet your new favorite noodle noodle dish – Garlic Sesame Gochijang Noodles! Meaty mushrooms, crumbled tofu, and chewy rice noodles are tossed in the most delicious gochujang sauce. It’s easy, quick, and the perfect balance of savory, spicy, and sweet made in under 30 minutes!
Garlic Sesame Gochujang Noodles
Happy Friday and even more importantly, HAPPY FIRST DAY OF OCTOBER, friends! Today I’m sharing a dish that I make often – usually when I want something quick and easy, yet packed with flavor and is still homemade. These Garlic Sesame Gochujang Noodles are the perfect balance of savory, spicy, and sweet! Not to mention, they’re so simple and require mostly pantry staples!
Grab a drink and let’s to making the best Garlic Sesame Gochujang Noodles!
what is gochujang?
Gochujang is a red chili paste that is widely used in Korean cooking. It’s made from Korean chili flakes, gochugaru, glutinous rice, fermented soy bean powder, barley malt powder and salt. Traditionally, gochujang is fermented over years in an earthward pot that’s kept outdoors. The gluten from the rice changes to sugars, giving this delightful condiment its sweet undertones.
where can you find gochujang?
I can always find gochujang at my local specialty Asian market, as well as health food stores such as Whole Foods and Sprouts. Sometimes, I’m even able to find it at some grocery stores. While there are several brands to choose from, the brand I typically putsches is Mother In Laws.
how to make Garlic Sesame Gochujang Noodles
We love an easy 30-minute meal in this household … and I think ya’ll do too! These Garlic Sesame Gochujang Noodles come together super quick! Here’s how to make em:
1. Sauce:
To make the sauce, whisk together the gochujang, low-sodium soy sauce, sesame seeds, vegetarian oyster sauce, sesame oil, water, and gochugaru in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Mushrooms & Tofu:
These add a super meaty texture which I really love! Melt some vegan butter in a large sauté pan. Once the butter is melted, add the mushrooms and crumble in the tofu with your hands. Season with the dark soy sauce and cook, mixing every couple of minutes, until the moisture has cooked out of the mushrooms and the tofu starts to crisp on the outer edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and tofu from the pan and set aside.
3. Garlic and Onions make everything taste better:
Add the white parts of green onion and garlic to the same pan you cooked the tofu and mushrooms in. Cook, mixing often, until the onions become translucent and the garlic is fragrant, 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low.
4. Toss:
Pour in the sauce, add the noodles and the broth and simmer, mixing to combine, until the noodles are cooked through. Add the tofu and mushrooms back into pan and mix again to combine.
5. Enjoy!
Serve with sesame seeds and fresh green onion, and enjoy!
more Asian-inspired noodle recipes:
- Peppered ‘Beef’ Stir Fried Noodles
- Ginger Meatballs with Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles
- Crispy Ginger ‘Beef’ Ramen Noodles
- 20-Minute Spicy Peanut Noodles
Sweet, spicy, savory perfection
I hope you love my Garlic Sesame Gochujang Noodles as much as I do! If you make this dish, don’t forget to let me know how it turned out! Snap a photo and show me your noods by tagging me on Instgram using @eat_figs_not_pigs and #EatFigsNotPigs – I love seeing all your recreations of my recipes!
Til next time! XO!
Garlic Sesame Gochujang Noodles
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegan-friendly gochujang
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce or Tamari
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds plus more for garnish
- 2 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce or stir fry sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon gochugaru
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter divided
- 1 14 ounce package extra firm tofu, pressed
- 8 ounces mushrooms roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 1 bunch green onions white parts only, chopped (save the green parts for garnish)
- ½ cup thinly sliced garlic
- 16 ounces thick rice noodles
- 1 cup vegan beef broth or vegetable broth
Instructions
- To make the sauce, whisk together the gochujang, low-sodium soy sauce, sesame seeds, vegetarian oyster sauce, sesame oil, water, and gochugaru in a small bowl and set aside.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the mushrooms and crumble in the tofu with your hands. Season with the dark soy sauce and cook, mixing every couple of minutes, until the moisture has cooked out of the mushrooms and the tofu starts to crisp on the outer edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and tofu from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the white parts of the green onion and garlic, and cook, mixing often, until the onions become translucent and the garlic is fragrant, 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low. Pour in the sauce, add the noodles and the broth and simmer, mixing to combine, until the noodles are cooked through. Add the tofu and mushrooms back into pan and mix again to combine. Serve with sesame seeds and fresh green onion, and enjoy!
I don’t have gochugaru, but I do have gochujang. Gochugaru is smoked red pepper, correct? Can I use chipotle (also smoked red pepper) instead? or smoked paprika? or just leave it out?
Chipotle powder or cayenne would work — just depends on your spice preference!
This is delicious!! Its one of my go to recipes when I want spicy noodles for dinner.
Hello!! Do you think I could add some snow peas or broccoli? Would I need to double the sauce? I like to have veggies with my noodles ????
Hey Lauren! If you’re going to add veggies, you might want to double the sauce!