This Creamy Miso Pasta with Tofu and Asparagus is the comfort food you need this spring! It's wholesome and incredibly flavorful. The best plant-based dinner ready in 20 minutes or less.

Creamy Miso Pasta with Tofu and Asparagus

INGREDIENTS

For Pasta

• 1 fried firm tofu (6.5 oz, 184 g)
• 4 oz asparagus (113 g)
• 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt)
• freshly ground black pepper

For Cooking Spaghetti

• 1 ½ Tbsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt)
• 7 oz spaghetti (100 g)

Soy Milk Sauce

• ½ cup unsweetened soy milk (120 ml; double the amount if you want to make it soup pasta)
• 2 tsp miso (double the amount for soup pasta; you can use any type of miso except for Hatcho Miso - white miso is milder, red miso is bolder and saltier, and yellow miso (Awase Miso) is in between)
• 1 tsp soy sauce (double the amount for soup pasta)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Gather all the ingredients.
   

To Make Miso Soymilk Sauce/Soup

1. In a measuring cup, combine ½ cup soy milk, 2 tsp miso, and 1 tsp soy sauce, and mix all together. If you want to make it into a "soup pasta" (see my blog post), double the amount of these ingredients.

To Prepare Pasta Ingredients

1. Wrap the tofu with a paper towel and remove any moisture. Cut the tofu into small cubes (It would be easier to eat if you cut the tofu into smaller cubes).

2. Trim off the ends of asparagus and cut it diagonally into thin slices.

To Cook Spaghetti

1. Start boiling 4 quarts (16 cups, 3.8 L) water in a large pot (I used a 4.5 QT Dutch oven). Once boiling, add 1 ½ Tbsp salt and spaghetti.

2. Stir to make sure spaghetti doesn’t stick to each other. Tip: I usually reduce the cooking time by 1 minute if I have to continue cooking the pasta afterward. Drain if you finish cooking the spaghetti first, but you should be able to cook the rest of the ingredients in 10 minutes while spaghetti is being cooked.

To Cook Pasta

1. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add tofu cubes and saute until they are coated with oil and warm.

2. Add asparagus and season with salt.

3. Add the soy milk mixture to the pan and lower the heat to medium-low heat (to avoid curdling).

4. Reserve 4 Tbsp (¼ cup, 60 ml) of pasta water and add to the frying pan. If you are making the "soup pasta", then add 4 more Tbsp of pasta water here.

5. By this time, your spaghetti should be done (otherwise, turn off the heat and wait for spaghetti to finish cooking). Pick up the noodles with a pair of tongs (or you can quickly drain in the sink) and add to the pan. Increase the heat to medium and toss the spaghetti to mix all together.

6. Taste and add salt if needed. The reserved pasta water I added has enough salt so I do not add additional salt here. Serve the pasta to individual dishes. Sprinkle with Shichimi Togarashi if you like a kick of spice. Enjoy!

https://www.justonecookbook.com/creamy-miso-pasta-with-tofu-and-asparagus/