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William
Shurtleff and wife Akiko Aoyagi travelled extensively throughout
Japan to compile the information held in this remarkable
book. With over 250 recipes ranging from main dishes to
deserts, this authoritative book belongs in every health
conscious cook's kitchen!
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Tofu
is one of the world's most remarkable foods, and it's
perfect for those who desire a meatless diet. It is low
in fat and high in protein, cholesterol free, versatile,
delicious, and inexpensive. Originally from China, tofu
has been used by the Japanese for a thousand years, and
there are literally hundreds of ways to prepare it. There
are two basic types of tofu used in Japanese cooking,
the standard "firm" variety, which has a rough surface
and slightly grainy texture and "silken" tofu (kinugoshi),
which is very soft and possesses a glossy surface. While
both varieties have the same ingredients they are made
in slightly different ways. All the recipes on this page
call for the firm
variety of tofu.
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Simmered
tofu is a symbol of wintertime cooking and is known from
Buddhist monasteries to drinking establishments. Simmered
in a light kelp stock the simplicity of this dish features
the texture and taste of the tofu. The dish is ready the
moment the heat of the stock has penetrated the core of
the simmering tofu. An absolutely delicious and delicate
way to prepare tofu that is deeply satisfying on a cold
day.
INGREDIENTS
2 blocks firm tofu
2 inch length konbu (kelp)
DIPPING
SAUCE
1
cup dashi (see
basics
for
preparation method)
1/2 cup
soy sauce
2 tablespoons sake
2 tablespoons mirin
1/4 cup loose bonito flakes
To
make the dipping sauce, combine the dashi, soy sauce,
sake, and mirin in a saucepan and bring to a boil over
high heat. Add the bonito flakes, remove from the heat
and strain to clarify. Keep the resulting sauce warm in
the saucepan.
CONDIMENTS
2
finely chopped green onions
1 sheet crumbled nori seaweed
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
Fill
a pot to the halfway point with water and add the konbu,
heat over medium flame taking care never to let the water
boil. Once the hot water has released the taste and aroma
of the konbu, cut each tofu block into 8 pieces and let
simmer in the hot stock. After around ten minutes the
tofu can be plucked from the stock and placed in a serving
bowl to be topped with hot dipping sauce and the various
condiments
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TOFU
DENGAKU (miso
topped grilled tofu)
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Grilling
tofu seems to be a Japanese invention and may be one of
the very first ways in which it was prepared. Originally,
Yaki-dofu (grilled tofu) was made by placing
the tofu on bamboo skewers and then grilling it around
an open hearth fire. As the style of cooking became popular,
skewered tofu was grilled on hibachi (a
charcoal brazier) in restaurants and in concession stands.
Yaki-dofu
is still made in those traditional ways, but today most
people use their stove broilers to grill the tofu. Yaki-dofu
is served sizzling hot with shoyu or miso, or used as
an ingredient in soups, oden, and other recipes. Here
is my favorite recipe for grilled tofu using miso as a
"barbeque" topping.
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2
blocks of regular firm tofu
3/4 cup of white dengaku miso... see recipe under
miso
6 tablespoons of red dengaku miso (see recipe under miso)
1 teaspoon of very finely grated orange or lemon peel
1/3 cup of lightly steamed spinach leaves
Remove
the excess moisture from the tofu by wrapping it in a
clean towel and placing it between 2 cutting boards, let
stand for 30 minutes. Now cut the tofu into slabs about
a 1/2 inch thick and two inches long.
Prepare
the miso toppings. To make the white miso topping mix
6 tablespoons of the white dengaku miso with the grated
citrus peel and set aside. To make the green topping,
puree the cooked spinach leaves and then mix thoroughly
with 6 tablespoons of white dengaku miso. The red dengaku
miso is ready as it is and will need no further preparation.
You
can grill the tofu in one of two ways, in an oven broiler
or on the stove top marshmallow style! If you choose the
oven broiler, place the tofu on aluminum foil and broil
each side until nicely browned... If you choose the stove
top method, skewer the tofu with a long metal fork or
bamboo skewer and hold just above the flames until the
tofu is browned... Now, spread each of the tofu slabs
with one of the three colored dengaku miso toppings and
grill again until lightly browned. Serve hot.
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ABURA-AGE
(deep fried tofu)
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Deep
fried tofu, or abura-age, is used in soups,
one pot cookery, noodle dishes, and in many other ways.
It can also be delicious all by itself as a topping on
a bowl of rice (domburi). Deep fried tofu
can be purchased at most Asian food stores, but it is
easily made at home, and all that you'll need is a wok
for the deep frying and a colander for rinsing and draining.
Deep fried until crisp and golden brown on the outside,
abura-aga is amazingly white and soft on the inside! Here
is how you make deep fried tofu.
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INGREDIENTS
1
block of regular firm tofu
A wok
or large deep pan
1 small bottle of vegetable oil (about 20 fluid oz./or 600
ml)
I small pot of boiling hot water
large plastic or metal colander
Remove
the excess moisture from the block of tofu by wrapping
it in a clean towel and placing it between 2 cutting boards,
let stand for an hour or two. Now cut the tofu block into
triangle shapes (see drawing), about two inches long.
Pour the oil into the wok and heat, when you dip a chopstick
into the heated oil and bubbles rise from it the oil is
ready for use. If the oil smokes it is too hot. Using
the wok's spatula, slide the tofu triangles one at a time
into the hot oil. Fry on both sides until golden brown.
Scoop
the triangles out of the wok and allow them to drain on
the wok's draining grill (or place on paper towels). Once
the triangles are drained and cool, it's a good idea to
give them a second deep frying. This deepens their golden
color and makes them nice and crisp. Place once again
on the grill to drain and cool.
The final step requires that you place the fried tofu
triangles in a colander and run very hot water
over them. I put the colander in the sink and allow the
hot water from the faucet to run over the tofu, while
I simultaneously pour boiling water from a pot over the
triangles. This hot water bath completely leeches all
remnants of oil from the tofu, resulting in tofu that
you would never magine as having been deep fried. Pat
dry the tofu and serve with rice or noodles and a little
shoyu, or use the fried tofu in another recipe.
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