Saigon Noodles

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the rice noodles. Peel and mince the ginger. Peel and mince 2 cloves garlic. Thinly slice the scallions. Peel and thinly slice the carrots. Dice the cucumber. Dice the radishes. Thinly slice the mint leaves. Drain the tofu, pat dry with paper towels, and cut into cubes.

Add the diced cucumber, radishes, chopped mint, 2 tsp rice vinegar, and a pinch of salt to a medium bowl and toss well to combine.

Add the sliced scallions to a medium bowl and add the minced ginger, garlic, tamari, sesame oil, maple syrup and remaining rice vinegar. Stir the ginger sauce well.

Add the rice noodles to the boiling water and stir. Turn off the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking process.

Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Add the cubed tofu and cook, turning occasionally, until browned in places, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sliced carrots to the skillet and cook, tossing occasionally, until the carrots are tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add half of the ginger sauce to the skillet and cook until thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Divide the vermicelli rice noodles between plates. Top with the Saigon noodles with ginger tofu and drizzle with the remaining ginger sauce. Serve with the cucumber mint salad.