Up until now, I was sceptical about viral recipes. Is anyone still making the baked feta pasta from 2021? Has the “marry me chicken” resulted in an uptick in matrimonies? But the tossed noodles (guay tiew klook) currently doing the rounds on Thai social media platforms really whet my appetite. In short, they’re noodles tossed with mince, garlic oil and a dark, sweet, salty and tangy hot sauce, and they just make so much sense that they really couldn’t not be great. I love them, so I’m passing on the baton to you using a combination of crumbly tempeh and walnuts instead of the mince.
Thai-style tossed walnut and tempeh noodles
Black vinegar (Chinkiang vinegar) and Laoganma crispy chilli in oil can be found in south-east Asian supermarkets or online, while Thai Taste makes a great and widely available vegan fish sauce. You’ll need a food processor to blitz the tempeh and nuts.
Prep 10 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 4
200g tempeh, cut into chunks
75g shelled walnuts
200g folded rice noodles
7 tbsp rapeseed oil
150g beansprouts, rinsed and drained
6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp black vinegar
1½ tbsp vegan fish sauce
1½ tbsp brown sugar
1½ tbsp lime juice (from 1 lime)
8 spring onions (100g), trimmed, whites and greens finely sliced
1½ tbsp Laoganma crispy chilli in oil sediment
20g fresh coriander, chopped
In the small bowl of a food processor, blitz the tempeh and walnuts to a coarse rubble the size of peas or smaller. Cook the rice noodles according to the packet instructions, then lift out, drain, rinse under the cold tap. Coat with a tablespoon of the oil and put to one side.
Put a wide frying pan on a medium heat and, when hot, add the beansprouts and a splash of water. Stir-fry for two minutes, then tip into a colander.
Put three tablespoons of rapeseed oil in the same wide frying pan and set it on a medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic, fry for about two minutes, until crisp, then tip into a small heatproof bowl. Stir the soy sauce, black vinegar, fish sauce, brown sugar and lime juice into the garlic bowl.
Put the remaining three tablespoons of oil in the same frying pan, keep the heat on medium and, when the oil is very hot, add three-quarters of the spring onions and cook, stirring, for two minutes. Add the tempeh and walnut mixture and fry, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until it turns crumbly and golden.
Put the noodles in a large bowl, and top with the tempeh and walnut mixture, the beansprouts, the remaining raw spring onions, the chilli oil sediment and the coriander. Pour on the dressing, toss well and serve.