This is one of my all time favourites. This dish does so many things. You get all the comforting, childlike nostalgia that comes with a bowl of Spag Bol but with some rich, savoury notes from the miso, chilli oil, ginger, garlic and combination of soy sauces. You can serve the sauce over linguine, bucatini, udon noodles, ramen noodles, spaghetti, even a steamy jacket potato... whatever you fancy.
In a food processor, blend the shallots with the ginger and garlic until they're very finely chopped, but not quite a paste. Tip the mixture into a bowl and set to one side.
Do the same with the mushrooms (don't worry about cleaning out the food processor). A really, really fine chop is what you want. They should almost be a paste - this will bind to the tofu and make the perfect 'mince'.
Mix the crumbled tofu and blended mushrooms, and squish everything together until they're fully combined.
In a separate bowl mix together all the ingredients for the sauce.
Grab a large, high sided frying pan and place on a medium heat. Drizzle in the sesame or veg oil. Once the pan and oil are hot, add the shallot mixture and cook for about 1 minute, stirring continuously.
Once the shallot mixture has softened and turned slightly golden, remove from the pan and tip it into the miso and chilli oil sauce. Mix until fully combined.
Keep the pan on the heat and add the mushroom and tofu mixture. Turn the heat up. Fry the mixture for 5-7 minutes then once all moisture has gone, drizzle some more oil into the pan. Stir to coat the tofu and mushrooms then mix in the ground cumin.
Once the tofu mushroom 'mince' has browned slightly, turn the heat down to low-medium and add the sauce. Stir together until everything is well incorporated. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and let the sauce gently cook whilst you get on with the pasta and garnishes.
Cook your pasta in salted water for a few minutes less than directed on the package, so it's nice and al dente. Once it's cooked, save 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water for later.
While your pasta cooks, slice the cucumber and spring onions into thin strips.
Turn the heat up under the sauce from earlier then slowly add your reserved pasta water, stirring as you go to help the sauce emulsify. Lift the pasta straight into the sauce. Give everything a toss together until it looks deliciously glossy.
Serve in big bowls and top with the cucumber, spring onions, a sprinkle of fresh coriander and an extra bit of chilli oil. Enjoy!
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