Yasai Itame with Tofu

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There is nothing like a fragrant coconut and lemongrass-infused broth with rice noodles, a bunch of tasty vegetables and pan-fried tofu on a cold winter day. When you are looking for a hug in a bowl, make our plant-based Yasai Itame recipe, to warm the heart and soul! Deliciously vegan and easy to make, Yasai Itame is best served in a ramen bowl and enjoyed with a sprinkle of chilli flakes on top!

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Recreating Restaurant Dishes: Yasai Itame (Wagamama)

Over the last couple of years, we have mostly spent time at home, here in North Wales. With the lockdowns, restrictions on international travel and many places being closed for the most part of these years, we weren't able to go out and eat out much. So we were on a mission to recreate most of our favourites at home.

One of the restaurants we miss most of all is Wagamamas! My personal favourites are Yasai Pad Thai and, of course, Itame! It's such a good dish with a perfect balance of the flavours and textures that go in it!

What is Itame?

Itame is a Japanese stir-fry dish, typically served with steamed rice and Japanese pickles. The flavours of Itame include lemongrass, coconut and ginger. Of course, let's not forget the sake which is a given in Japanese cuisine. Itame is mostly made vegetarian using up any leftover vegetables in the fridge, but meat can also be added.

Wagamama's Yasai Itame is slightly different to any others I've tasted, it has a lemongrass broth to go with it and looks more like ramen, than a stir-fry. If you're intrigued, or just like us, simply miss a good old Wagamama's meal, let's get cooking!

Ingredients for Yasai Itame Recipe

• 1 tbsp green Thai curry paste: curry pastes differ in the strength of flavour, so you may need to experiment here with the paste that you have. Simply taste the broth after the first 10 minutes of simmering and add more paste if it needs it. We use Blue Dragon Green Thai Curry Paste. It is vegan and there's a perfect amount in a pot for this recipe for 2.
• 450 ml vegetable stock: make sure it's vegan if you're looking for a plant-based meal.
• 60 g creamed coconut: This recipe requires creamed coconut. Don't confuse it with coconut cream or coconut milk though - they have completely different textures. Creamed coconut normally comes compressed into a block shape or small (50g) sachets. We typically find this in the international food isles in the Thai or Chinese sections. Our favourite is Blue Dragon Creamed Coconut Block.
• 2 tsp lemongrass paste: can be found in larger supermarkets. Morrisons and Sainsbury's stock it in the UK.
• 4 spring onions
• ½ red chilli: alternatively substitute with ½ teaspoon of chilli flakes.
• 1 garlic clove
• 200 g firm tofu: we personally love Cauldron Tofu.
• 100 g pak choi: we separate the white and green parts as they cook at different speeds. White parts are sliced and added to the broth first, and then green pars are added at the end to wilt.
• 1 red onion
• 150 g beansprouts: we personally prefer fresh beansprouts versus canned ones.
• 80 g chestnut mushrooms: most other mushrooms will work here: closed cup, shiitake or portabello.
• ½ red pepper: or any other colour, but red adds to the aesthetics of the dish.
• 100 g flat rice noodles: whilst you can use any other noodles, rice noodles are the more traditional choice.
• 15 g fresh coriander
• ½ lime 

How to Make Tofu Crispy?

Take your tofu out of the fridge and drain it long before you start cooking. If you want your tofu crispy but don't want to roll it in cornflour (cornflour will become soggy in this recipe when added to the broth), you will need to press it first.

Wrap your firm tofu in a clean tea towel and place something heavy on top: you can use a heavy pan, a chopping board with lots of cans on top or a bunch of books. Doing this ensures all extra liquid is pressed out. If you make tofu dishes a lot, there are lots of Tofu Presses out there that you may want to invest in!

You may either cut your pressed tofu into cubes or break the tofu up into pieces (like we did in our Spicy Gochujang Tofu Recipe and Teriyaki Tofu Poke Bowls).

Fry your tofu for a while, it will take about 10 minutes for the surface to dry out and become crispy!

Method

Heat a large pan with a tablespoon of vegetable oil and green curry paste for a minute until fragrant. Pour in the hot stock, add the chopped creamed coconut add the lemongrass paste and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes for the flavours to infuse.

After 10 minutes, add the spring onions (reserve some for the top), garlic and red chilli (reserve some for the top) and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

In the meantime, heat 2 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large wok or frying pan on medium-high heat. Add the tofu cubes and fry for approx 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Your tofu should be crispy on the outside and browned. Once cooked, take off the heat and set aside.

Stir-fry red onion, red pepper, whites of pak choi, mushrooms and bean sprouts for 5 minutes. Then add them to the broth alongside the greens of pak choi and coriander and turn the heat off.

Cook the rice noodles following the instructions on the packet. Drain and divide between bowls.

Pour the soup over the noodles. Top with tofu and garnish with coriander, reserved chilli and spring onions. Serve with a lime wedge!

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Other Asian-Cuisine-Inspired Recipes

For other Asian cuisine-inspired meals, have a look at our recipes below:

• Vegan Yasai Pad Thai (vegan)
• Crispy Tofu Kung Pao
• Sticky Shiitake Mushrooms (Vegan Shiitake Mushroom Recipe)
• Vegan Pineapple Stir Fry with Curried Coconut Sauce (vegan)
• Crispy Chilli Beef

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