Soak the rice noodles in cold water for at least 10 minutes until softened.

Lay the tofu between 2 sheets of kitchen paper on a plate or clean surface. Place a small plate over the top and a jar or weight on the plate to press down. Leave the tofu like this to dry out for half an hour. 

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl with 4 tablespoons of cold water. Set aside.

Cut the broccoli into florets and thinly slice the stalks, keeping them separate.

Slice the tofu into 1cm-thick pieces about half the length of your little finger. In a large non-stick frying pan or wok, heat 3 tablespoons of oil over a medium-high heat, then fry the pieces of tofu for 6–8 minutes, turning them every minute, until golden all over.

Add the soy sauce and stir for another 30 seconds (be careful here, as the sauce may spit). Lift the tofu out of the pan with a slotted spoon onto a plate. Keep warm in a low heat oven. 

When cool enough, wipe the pan out with kitchen paper and add a couple more tablespoons of oil. Heat over a medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.

Then add the broccoli stalks, drained noodles and 6 tablespoons of water and cook for 3–4 minutes until the broccoli stems are tender and the noodles are beginning to cook and crisp up.

Add the broccoli florets, sauce and most of the spring onions along with 2 more tablespoons of water. Stir and cook for another 3–4 minutes until the noodles are soft enough to eat.

If you are using eggs, push the noodles to the side of the wok and add a little more oil, then the eggs. Pierce the yolks and when they start to set on the bottom, scramble, then mix into the noodles. 

Take the pan off the heat and fold through the beansprouts, then spoon the noodles between four warm Le Creuset pasta bowls.

Sprinkle over the peanuts and the rest of the spring onions. Scatter over the chillies, herbs, crispy onions and shallots.

Squeeze over the juice of a lime, and serve immediately, with the rest of the lime for squeezing over.