Chinese Italian or Italian Chinese?

Whichever way it is, this dish is a very quick, easy, and most importantly, tasty dinner option. Two pots, seven ingredients (excluding seasonings), 30-35 minutes and you are ready to eat. And not only is it a minimum-fuss recipe to prepare, it is very healthy too – I love pasta (yes, pasta is a carb and yes, pasta is good for you; just look at Sophia Loren), and it works beautifully in this combination: the tofu offers a good source of quality protein and the walnuts bring with them their high concentration of omega-3 acids, while the classic Nonya rempah (ground spice mix) chilli garam (a combination of chilli, candlenuts and shallots) adds a fiery zing, and the fresh coriander, with its aromatic perfume, rounds off the flavor matrix with a refreshing nuance. This dish may be vegetarian, but I think it is one that even die-hard meat lovers won’t turn their noses up at.

Usually, when we think quick, easy and simple dishes, we think they are somehow not presentable enough to serve to guests; but this dish is eminently party-worthy. It is very pretty – the red chillis coat the pasta with the gorgeous colors of sunset, spiked with the warm golden brown of the walnuts and the lively green of the coriander. I have served this to friends and it’s been nothing but good responses from everyone. And the great thing is, it’s so easy and quick to prepare; you don’t have to be fiddling in the kitchen after your guests have arrived.

This dish is a (perhaps fairly eclectic) blend of Asian and Italian influences. Yes, it belongs to that now very maligned category of foods called “fusion”; but it works, and works very well.

Of course, you can choose to make it more Asian by using Chinese noodles like dried la mian, spinach noodles or egg noodles. Or, you can choose to play up the Italian-ness in the dish and use Italian flat leaf parsley in place of the coriander, and maybe use toasted pine nuts instead of walnuts. Really, this dish is highly versatile and very amenable to playful adaptation.

For those who truly can’t bear the thought of eating a meal without animal protein, diced chicken meat can be substituted for the tofu. And you can even use cashew nuts with the chicken instead of walnuts. Alternatively, try prawns with cashews.

I however really like this vegetarian version; I’ve made this pasta several times already, and it’s quickly become one of my favorite ways to prepare pasta.

Sambal Tofu Walnut Pasta

Serves approximately 4 persons

200-250g dried pasta (spaghetti, fettuccini or linguini) OR dried Chinese noodles (la mian, egg noodles)
1 teaspoon salt

2 large squares firm tofu (tau kwa), crumbled
100g walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
4 stalks fresh coriander leaves (cilantro; Chinese parsley), chopped
1 lemon, cut into wedges
light soy sauce, to taste
sugar, to taste

For the Sambal:

12 shallots
12 dried red chillies
4 candlenuts (buah keras)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 tablespoons light soy sauce, OR 1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

• Peel the shallots. Scald the dried chillies with boiling water and pat dry. Remove seeds. [I tend to remove all the seeds, and find that the dish has just the right amount of heat – enough to get me sniffling and stretching for a Kleenex. However, if more spiciness is desired, just leave some of the chillies with seeds in, or leave all the chillies with seeds in.]

• Using a mortar and pestle, pound the shallots, dried chillies and candlenuts to a paste-like consistency. [You won’t be able to get it to a completely smooth paste because of the dried chillies, but that’s good – the skins of the chillies offer interesting specks of texture, color and flavor in the final dish.] Set aside.

• Bring water to a boil in a large pot; add 1 teaspoon of salt and the pasta. Cook until al dente.

• In the meantime, heat a large frying pan. Add the oil and sauté the ground sambal ingredients until aromatic (about 5-8 minutes or when you feel your nostrils tingle a little and sense a sneeze coming on). Season with 3 tablespoons of light soy sauce (or 1 teaspoon of salt; though I tend to prefer the light soy sauce as it adds a depth and richness of color to the sambal and gives a more complex flavor too, but that’s just my personal preference) and 1 teaspoon of sugar.

• Toss in the crumbled tofu and fry for about two minutes. Add the chopped walnuts; mix well. Adjust the seasonings if necessary. [At this point I usually add another 2-3 tablespoons or so of light soy sauce and maybe ¼ to ½ teaspoon more of sugar if necessary. It sounds like a lot soy sauce but it really isn’t; and I’m one who can’t stand over-salted food. Of course, the amount needed also depends greatly on the brand of light soy sauce you use; some brands are much saltier.]

• When the pasta is cooked, set aside 3-4 tablespoons of the cooking water, drain the pasta and add to the sambal pan, together with the reserved pasta cooking water. [Do not rinse the cooked pasta; but if using Chinese dried noodles, you can give the cooked noodles a quick rinse under running water, then pour some boiling water over the noodles to warm them up again, before tossing them in with the sambal.]

• Add the chopped coriander leaves, and toss well.

• Serve hot, with lemon wedges.

I think the lemon is an important component; it somehow seems to bring all the flavors together into a cohesive whole, plus of course, it gives the dish a delightfully appetizing tangy overtone.

For me, one of the nicest things going for this pasta dish is the complex layering of both texture and flavor: the soft, creaminess of the tofu is contrasted with and complemented by the aromatic crunch of the walnuts and the tender toothsome-y bite of the pasta (in this instance I had actually used semi-wholewheat pasta); the tingling spiciness of the chilli rempah sets off the blank canvas of the tofu and pasta beautifully, while being highlighted by the perfumy herbiness of the coriander and the cheery zestiness of the lemon. The whole dish just comes together rather well: wonderfully rich in flavors and textures, whilst staying fairly light on the palate.

Okay, one final bossy suggestion from me: if you would like to tone down the chilli heat level of the dish, simply make some adjustments to the sambal: use less dried chilli (oh, maybe 9 or 10), more shallots (around 14-15) and more candlenuts (around 6 should be fine). The key really is just to maintain the volume of the rempah; the sauce is a very “dry” one, so the volume is necessary.

Alright, I lie. Here’s one more bossy suggestion; this really is the last one. I promise. Here’s a nod to the carb-avoiders: you can still create a great dish by junking the pasta altogether, and just sautéing the tofu and walnuts in the chilli sambal. This can then be served wrapped in crunchy lettuce leaves. Scrummy is the word.

Copyright © 2004 Renee Kho. All Rights Reserved.
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