Instructions: Combine sauce ingredients (first 11) in a medium bowl, and stir with a wire whisk until blended. Cut each tofu cake crosswise into 4 slices. Place tofu slices in soy sauce mixture, and marinate in refrigerator at least 2 hours.

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and place over medium-high heat until hot. Remove tofu slices from marinade, reserving marinade. Add tofu slices to skillet, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from skillet; set aside, and keep warm.

Add reserved marinade to skillet, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Spoon noodles onto individual plates, and top with tofu slices. Drizzle warm marinade over tofu and noodles. Garnish with flowering basil, if desired. (serving size: 1 1/2 cups noodles, 2 tofu slices, and 1/2 cup sauce).

Description: "The marinade doubles as a sauce."

Serving Ideas : Served with wheat and spinach linguine; side of sliced carrots and broccoli florets.

NOTES : Review 2000-09-05: Very enthused and pleased by this taste treat! For our test, I halved the recipe except I used 8 ounces of firm tofu (Azumaya Lite extra firm) for two of us. Tip: Drain and weight the tofu overnight. Marinate first thing in the morning. Dinner in 20 minutes. Our basil is fierce: but it calmed down next to a packed handful of spinach leaves and combining that with the sauce that we poured over the tofu on pasta. It was also good as a dipping sauce for the vegetables. I did need a little cornstarch slurry to make the sauce. Wonderful. Advice: Warm the marinade slightly in the microwave to make sure all the dry spices are mixed; or not. We did like the little surprise bites of cayenne heat that must have shifted to one side of the container.

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