MY VERSION: WASABI YAKI SOBA

I have a bit of a thing for Japanese food and think I would be in my element if I decided to visit Japan one day. Wagamamas, Dim T and Wasabi are all at the top of my list for a casual meal out or a quick grab and go. When I worked in Central London I would religiously order the Roasted Veg Yaki Soba noodles from Wasabi, which are accidentally vegan (you can check out their allergy info here). Looking at the handful of ingredients in the Yaki Soba I thought this would be easy enough to recreate at home, plus it's always fun to experiment in the kitchen with foods you love. I actually now prefer the home cooked versions of my restaurant faves to the real thing (Read: check out my Wagamamas recipe). At least this way you can control what goes in and you know exactly what your eating!

Ingredients (serves 3):

2 bundles of organic udon or buckwheat soba noodles
Firm organic tofu
Frozen garden peas
1 onion chopped into chunks
2 tbsp oil
Salt
Hot sauce and soy sauce to taste

Instructions:

1. Chop the tofu into large cubes and the onion into chunks.
2. Fry the onion in 1tbsp oil in a large pan till lightly brown.
3. Boil the noodles in a pan of lightly salted water for about 8mins.
4. In a separate pan add 1tbsp of oil and fry the tofu cubes for about 6mins.
5. Meanwhile boil the peas for 4mins in a pan of lightly salted water.
6. When everything is ready drain the noodles and sprinkle them with cold water, toss till they are dry. Then put them into the same large pan as the onions and add the tofu. Drain the peas and add those to the pan. Cook everything in the pan together till warmed through.
7. Add salt, hot sauce and soy sauce to taste. Delicious served with miso soup and vegetable spring rolls.

I'm ready for my close-up.

Healthy tips:

• Skip frying the noodles at the end and just serve the ingredients straight on top of the boiled noodles after draining.
• I usually make this dish with udon noodles but it's a matter of preference and depends on how healthy you want to be, the soba noodles are healthier as they're made from buckwheat.
• You could always try adding more veggies to this dish to make it as nutritious and colourful as you like.

What's your favourite place to eat? Have you ever attempted to make your favourite restaurant dish or adapted it to make it vegan? I'd love to know!