Curried squash udon noodles

The Internet has become a terrific resource for cooks. Not only are there endless recipes online (cherry white chocolate cookies, white chocolate and cherry chocolate cookies, cherry macadamia chocolate cookies...), but now there's social networking. For example, we bought an acorn squash earlier this week. I'm not a huge fan of the sweeter squashes or potatoes, so I was struggling to figure out a way to make it exciting to eat. I posted a Facebook status asking for advice on how to prepare it. Within half an hour I had four friends respond, all posting delicious-sounding recipes. I took Mark's cue to curry the squash and made this udon noodle dish.

Curried Squash with Udon Noodles

1 acorn squash
2 tbl sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp yellow Thai curry powder, or more to taste
1/2 block tofu, cut into squares
2 single-serving packets fresh udon noodles
1 shallot, sliced
garnishes like chopped scallions, Thai basil, and cilantro

Slice squash in half (saving seeds to toast in oven!) and place cut side down in a baking dish. Fill an inch or two with water and microwave for 10-15 minutes, until squash is slightly soft. Remove and let squash cool for a few minutes.

In a medium pot, saute onion and garlic in sesame oil. Scrape flesh from squash and add it to the onions. Add curry powder. While squash is cooking, heat a frying pan with vegetable oil and fry tofu, draining on paper towels when brown.

After squash and onions have cooked for 5-10 minutes, add soy sauce and let cook for 2 more minutes. Cover squash with water, then cover pot and simmer over medium-low heat while you are cooking the tofu. Once the squash is soft, blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Add a teaspoon or two of cornstarch to thicken if necessary. Salt and season to taste. Add udon noodles and cook until they are broken apart, three to five minutes.

In the vegetable oil, fry the sliced shallot until crispy. Drain on a paper towel.

Top noodles with tofu, fried shallots, cilantro, basil, scallions, and any other condiments. We bought some black vinegar at the Asian grocery and it goes really well with this dish. I also made some crispy kale with black sesame seeds as a side to these noodles.

Now I'm working on cooking all of the other recipes my friends suggesting on Facebook. Who knows, I might find myself a squash convert!