Fusion Agedashi Tofu
Mochiko-coated deep-fried tofu served with a dashi vegetable broth; topped with minced daikon and sesame seeds
Agedashi tofu is a traditional Japanese dish in which deep-fried silken tofu is served in a hot, salty broth and various fresh toppings. I had a bunch of vegetables at home that I needed to use up, so I decided to make a heartier version with vegetables.
In retrospect, I’d make the tofu cubes smaller, not add potatoes (too starchy), and eat it with chopsticks, not a spoon (I know, it’s such a small detail but spoons are so unwieldy when eating tofu!). By the way, the vegetable soup tastes pretty good by itself.
I served it in a shallow bowl so that the tofu stays crisp and garnished it with minced Asian radish and sesame seeds, which added just the right crunch.
Warning: This dish takes some time!
Vegetable Broth
Kombu/dashima (a thick seaweed used in Japanese and Korean cooking)
Dried shiitake mushrooms
Vegetable oil (or whatever you prefer for frying)
Veggie meat (see here for the brand that I used)
Onions
Carrots
Potatoes
Napa cabbage
Long Korean green chile peppers
Soy sauce
McKay’s Chicken Seasoning
Minced garlic
Sesame oil
Ginger powder
Spinach leaves or frozen spinach
Soak couple small pieces of kombu and handful of shiitake mushrooms in cold water overnight OR simmer gently for 30 minutes. This broth is called dashi in Japanese. Take out the kombu before adding the other ingredients.
Sauteé veggie meat and chopped onions until veggie meat is slightly browned and onions are barely translucent. Chop carrots and potatoes. Slice Napa cabbage into strips. Add to dashi broth. (You can really add whatever vegetables you want; these are just recommendations.)
Add soy sauce, McKay’s, garlic, sesame oil, and ginger powder to taste. Let it simmer until all the vegetables are cooked.
Keep the broth on low heat until ready to serve. Strip chile peppers of seeds (they’re hot) and cut into thin diagonal strips. Add spinach and peppers once the heat is turned off.
Fried Tofu
1 block silken or firm tofu
mochiko (sweet rice flour) OR cornstarch
oil with a high smoke point–olive oil wouldn’t be a good choice here!*
garnishes of your choice:
- minced/grated daikon
- finely chopped green onion
- grated fresh ginger
- sesame seeds…
Rinse and place tofu in a shallow bowl with a cutting board and heavy object on top. Be careful if you’re using silken tofu–it breaks easily! You might want to wrap it in a cheesecloth first.
Cut tofu into 1-inch cubes. (I made mine too big the first time.) Roll cubes in a bowl of mochiko or cornstarch and a pinch of salt until evenly coated.
Heat 0.25 inches of oil in a saucepan. I didn’t use a frying pan because I wanted to minimize the amount of oil splattering all over my stove. Fry each side of tofu until crisp, then drain on a couple layers of paper towels.
Serve immediately in a shallow bowl with vegetable broth. Top with garnish of your choice and add soy sauce to taste (it should be on the salty side).
*List of oils with high smoke points found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_point. Yeah, Wikipedia!
