Soba noodle bowls with spicy cashew sauce and your choice of protein

Bring a medium sauce pot of water to a boil. Add the soba noodles and cook until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Meanwhile, prepare your protein.

• Tofu: Pat the tofu dry with paper towels; cut into ½-inch cubes.
• Steaks: Pat the meat dry with a paper towel; cut the meat against the grain into ½-inch-thick strips, then cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces.
• Shrimp: Rinse and drain the shrimp. Pat dry on a paper-towel-lined plate.

In a medium bowl, stir together the cornstarch, ½ teaspoon [1 tsp] salt, and ½ teaspoon [1 tsp] pepper. Dredge your protein in the cornstarch mixture, turning to coat all sides; shake off any excess.

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 to 2 tablespoons oil until hot but not smoking. Add your protein and cook, stirring occasionally, until the protein is browned and just cooked through, 3 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate and season to taste with salt and pepper. Wipe out the pan. 

While your protein is cooking, prepare the remaining ingredients. 

• Trim the root ends from the scallions; thinly slice the scallions on the diagonal, keeping the light and dark green parts separate.
• Remove the stems, ribs, and seeds from the bell pepper; cut the pepper into ¼-inch-thick strips. 

In the same pan used for your protein, warm 1 to 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Stir in the light parts of the scallions and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the cashew sauce base, sambal oelek, and ½ cup [1 cup] water and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Add the soba noodles, bell pepper, and carrots and cook, stirring to coat, until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the edamame, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer the soba noodles and vegetables to individual bowls and top with your protein. Garnish with the dark green parts of the scallions and serve.