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Tofu recipes for the unconvinced

January 10, 2021 6 Comments Filed Under: Chinese food, Food, Japan, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

agedashi tofu pic: Kerstin rodgers/msmarmitelover.com
Tofu has a bland reputation as a food. I hear all the time that people don’t like it. This ‘veganuary’ however you might want to give it another try. There are several textures of tofu: from silken through to soft, medium, firm and extra firm of plain white tofu. Smoked tofu is available from several different companies as well as basil and tomato flavoured tofu. It can be used in savoury or sweet dishes. In Japan they use thick creamy tofu, almost like double cream with a mildly beany taste, for breakfast. In Kyoto last year I went for a set ‘temple’ meal where every dish used tofu differently and deliciously.

Think of it as a flavour sponge that is both high protein and low fat. It derives from the soybean which is boiled, mashed and strained and finally coagulated into a block much as cheese is.

pic: Kerstin rodgers/msmarmitelover.com

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5 from 2 votes

Mapo tofu

Mapo tofu is easy to make - well worth adding to your meal rotation. It comes from the Sichuan province of China; the tongue numbing qualities of sichuan pepper are a vital ingredient. While it is often served with meat, this is a shiitake mushroom version. For this you will need soft tofu ideally, but it is soaked in hot salty water for 15 minutes prior to cooking.
Course Main Course, vegan main course, Vegetarian main course
Cuisine Chinese food, sichuan food
Keyword Chinese tofu recipe, Mapo tofu recipe, Tofu, Vegan, Vegetarian
Serves 5

Ingredients

  • 400 g box of soft tofu not silken
  • 5 soaked dried shiitake mushrooms, diced, keep water
  • 1 red bell pepper, finely sliced
  • 400 g fresh shiitake mushroom, sliced thinly
  • 400 ml vegetable stock
  • 1 thumb fresh ginger, minced
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 4 tbsps groundnut or vegetable oil
  • 3 tbsp fermented bean paste
  • 1 or 2 small red chillies, minced or a spoonful of chinese chilli paste
  • 1 tsp heaped sichuan peppercorns, finely ground
  • 2 tbsps soy or tamari sauce
  • 2 tbsp cornflour in 3 tbsps water, mixed into a slurry
  • 3/4 spring onions, finely sliced
  • large pinch fresh coriander leaves

Instructions

  • Prepare the tofu by cutting it into one inch cubes and soaking it in hot but not boiling salted water. Drain after 15 minutes or more.
  • Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms, covering them in boiling water. Leave until the mushrooms are soft, then dice the mushrooms. Retain the mushroom soaking water and add it to the vegetable stock water.
  • Prepare the other ingredients so that they are ready to be stir-fried: red bell pepper, fresh mushrooms, ginger, garlic.
  • Using a wok or deep frying pan, add the oil and heat to frying temperature
  • Add the bell peppers,fry for a couple of minutes, then add fermented bean paste, chilli paste or chillies, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sichuan pepper.
  • Add the mushroom/vegetable broth and simmer on high for a couple of minutes.
  • Carefully add the cubes of tofu, taking care not to break them too much.
  • Add the cornflour slurry, stirring for a couple of minutes
  • Serve with rice or noodles, garnishing with spring onions or chives and or coriander leaves.

 

agedashi tofu pic: Kerstin rodgers/msmarmitelover.com

Print
5 from 2 votes

Agedashi Tofu

This is a Japanese pescetarian/vegan dish, depending on whether the broth or 'dashi' has bonito flakes (a kind of fermented tuna) in it.
It's subtle in flavour: essentially all about the texture, the soft insides of the tofu cubes with the crispy outsides and the salty broth. It's rather like tofu tempura.
Course Starter, Vegan starter, Vegetarian starter

Ingredients

  • 400 g soft tofu
  • 5 tbsp cornflour
  • 300 ml dashi broth
  • 2 tbsp mirin (Japanese sweet wine)
  • 3 tbsp soy/tamari sauce
  • 3 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp Togarashi (Japanese seven spice)
  • vegetable or groundnut oil for deep frying
  • 5 inches Daikon radish, finely sliced on a mandoline., optional

Instructions

  • Prepare the sauce by mixing the dashi, mirin and soy sauce. Set aside.
  • Slice the spring onions.
  • First wrap your tofu in a clean teatowel or kitchen paper and place a weight on top. Leave for 15 minutes. Then cut it into 1 or 2 inch squares.
  • Sprinkle a plate with cornflour and dip each side of the tofu square with the flour.
  • Heat up a deep fryer or deep frying pan with oil to 180Cº
  • Once the outside of the tofu/cornflour looks crispy and starts to float, drain it on some kitchen paper.
  • Place 3 cubes in a small bowl and pour the broth mixture around the tofu.
  • Sprinkle with spring onion and togarashi spice. Plus the daikon if you have it.
  • Serve immediately.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Liza

    January 11, 2021 at 7:54 am

    Thank you for posting the Agedashi Tofu recipe, my favorite! I use Tofu a lot and my daughter always requests my Tofu cheesecake, a real stunner. Lots of citrus in it and nobody ever guesses it is tofu. Thanks again!

    Reply
    • msmarmitelover

      January 11, 2021 at 1:11 pm

      I’d like to know your recipe!

      Reply
      • Lidia

        January 11, 2021 at 5:41 pm

        Me too!

        Reply
  2. Argo

    January 11, 2021 at 12:09 pm

    5 stars
    Interesting but when I look at tofu in shops they dont say soft or silky. Etc. I have bought it but mostly been disappointed . Could you visit a supermarket, take photos of packets and tell us what to do with them . Please 🤔

    Reply
    • msmarmitelover

      January 11, 2021 at 1:10 pm

      in a normal supermarket you will find silky tofu, usually in tetrabrik type packets, by Clearspring. They will also sell smoked firm tofu in blocks and plain very firm tofu.
      To get all the different grades, I went to a Japanese supermarket which will have everything from silken, very soft, soft, firm, extra firm. I’ll try and find a picture.

      Reply
  3. Lidia

    January 11, 2021 at 5:46 pm

    5 stars
    I love tofu, thanks a lot for these recipes. Last time I ate it I had no time for cooking and I just let it soak in a mixture of soy sauce and apple vinegar, and then ate it like this.

    Reply

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MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

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Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
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The taste of the tonka bean is linked strongly to its scent. "Scents," I should say, as the tonka bean has many at once. I register the aromas of vanilla, cherry, almond, and something spicy—a bit like cinnamon. When served cold—say, in tonka bean ice cream—the taste is like a vanilla caramel with dark honey. When warm, perhaps shaved over scallops, it moves toward spiced vanilla. Additionally, the aroma of the tonka bean shavings (it's almost always shaved) is so affecting that it seems like an actual taste in the way that opium, which has no taste in the traditional sense, "tastes" like its rich, flowery smoke.  Here is the recipe: 

Tonka bean galette des rois

Serves 8
Ingredients
* 140 g caster sugar
* 125 g salted butter, softened
* 100 g ground almonds
* 2 eggs, medium
* 1 tonka bean, grated
* 2 packs ready made butter puff pastry on a roll
* 1 yolk for brushing the pastry
Instructions
* Preheat your oven to 200c.

* Blend the butter with the sugar then add the almonds. Make sure it’s well mixed. Add in the 2 eggs one at a time, then add the tonka bean.

* If using a block: divide the puff pastry into two and roll out to 5mm thick. 
* Make two circles about 15 cm’s each in diameter. Lay one circle on a silicone mat/parchment paper on a baking tray and fill with the almond cream leaving a 3 cm border around the edge. 
* Paint the border with the egg yolk. Then lay the other circle on top, sealing the edges with a fork. 
* You could then carve designs into the top. Make a little slit in the middle to let steam escape then brush the top with the egg yolk
Mapo tofu is probably my favourite Sichuan dish. T Mapo tofu is probably my favourite Sichuan dish. This is a vegan version. ***

Ingredients:
- 400 g box of soft tofu not silken
- 5 soaked dried shiitake mushrooms, diced, keep water
- 1 red bell pepper, finely sliced
- 400 g fresh shiitake mushroom, sliced thinly
- 400 ml vegetable stock
- 1 thumb fresh ginger, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 tbsps groundnut or vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp fermented bean paste
- 1 or 2 small red chillies, minced or a spoonful of Chinese chilli paste
- 1 tsp heaped sichuan peppercorns, finely ground
- 2 tbsps soy or tamari sauce
- 2 tbsp cornflour in 3 tbsps water, mixed into a slurry
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced
- large pinch fresh coriander leaves

Prepare the tofu by cutting it into one inch cubes and soaking it in hot but not boiling salted water. Drain after 15 minutes.
Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms, covering them in boiling water. Leave until soft, then dice the mushrooms. Retain the mushroom soaking water and add to the vegetable stock water.
Prepare the other ingredients so they are ready to stir-fry: red bell pepper, fresh mushrooms, ginger, garlic.

Using a wok or deep frying pan, add the oil and heat to frying temperature. Add the bell peppers,fry for a couple of minutes, then add fermented bean paste, chilli paste or chillies, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sichuan pepper.
Add the mushroom/vegetable broth and simmer on high for a couple of minutes.
Carefully add the cubes of tofu, taking care not to break them too much.
Add the cornflour slurry, stirring for a couple of minutes.
Serve with rice or noodles, garnishing with spring onions or chives and or coriander leaves.  #veganuary #mapotofu #sichuanfood #tofu  #shitakemushrooms #supperclub #londonchef #msmarmitelover #ham&highcolumn #eatplants #lockdown3 #selfisolation #coronaloner #cooking #recipe #cookingfromscratch
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