• Start by soaking the cashes in hot water for 20 minutes.
  1 cup raw cashews
• Preheat oven to 400”F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl tear the tofu block into small bite size pieces (3/4 inch or so). Add all the spices (shoyu, gochujang paste, nooch, onion, paprika and cornstarch) and toss to coat really well all over.
  2 tsp onion powder, 16 oz block super firm tofu, 2 Tbsp shoyu, 1 Tbsp olive oil + more for drizzling, 1.5 Tbsp nooch, 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika, 1-2 Tbsp cornstarch, 1 Tbsp gochujang paste
• Transfer the seasoned tofu to the prepared baking dish and spread in an even layer. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes. Give it a toss and cook an addition 10 to 15 minutes until crispy golden around the edges to your liking (take care not to overcook it as it will get chewier the longer it cooks).
• Meanwhile boil your pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water if you might want to thin out the sauce.

SAUCE

• Drain the cashews and add them to your Vitamix blender with all the seasonings + 1/2 cup water. Process on the smoothie setting until silky smooth. If you would like to thin it out at this point add a splash of the reserved pasta water and process again.
  1 cup raw cashews, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, 1.5 Tbsp gochujang paste, 1 Tbsp tomato paste, 1 Tbsp shoyu, 1 Tbsp white miso paste, 1/2 tsp turmeric, freshly cracked black pepper, 1/2 cup water, Sea salt to taste, 2 tsp onion powder
• Toss the sauce with the pasta (reserve some sauce for garnish) and mix well until coated all over and lusciously creamy.
  1 lb Mezzi rigatoni
• Serve with the roasted gochujang tofu on top and garnish with black sesame seeds, red chili flakes, basil and scallions thinly sliced at an angle. Drizzle more of the sauce on top if needed to make everything look luscious.
  Fresh basil leaves + scallions for garnish, Black + white sesame seeds & red chili flakes for garnish