Creamy Miso Pasta with Tofu and Asparagus (Vegan)

1. Gather all the ingredients.

To Make the Miso Soy Milk Sauce/Soup

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

To Prepare the Pasta Ingredients

1. Wrap 1 deep-fried firm tofu cutlet (atsuage) with a paper towel and remove any moisture. Cut the tofu into small cubes (so it‘s easier to eat).
2. Trim off the ends of 4 oz asparagus spears and cut the asparagus diagonally into thin slices.

To Cook the 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 1½ Tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and 7 oz 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 the Creamy Miso Pasta

1. Heat 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the tofu cubes and sauté until they are coated with oil and warmed through.
2. Add the asparagus and season with ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3. Add the soy milk mixture to the pan and lower the heat to medium low (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 Tbsp more pasta water here.
5. By this time, your spaghetti should be done (otherwise, turn off the heat and wait for the 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 (Japanese seven spice) if you like a kick of spice. Enjoy!