Tofu with crab sauce (Kani ankake doufu)

Of all places, the inspiration for this dish came 30,000 feet above the Midwest. What does tofu and crab have to do with flying over the Midwest?

I was flying back to New York from San Francisco on a Virgin America flight which has an awesome in-flight entertainment system with video-on-demand in the seat back screens. Flipping through the many options, I noticed they had some Japanese programing. One of the shows (something between a celebrity quiz show and a Discovery channel topical documentary), was featuring crab going into great scientific detail about the best ways to prepare, frozen, fresh, and canned crab.

While the program didn’t say how to actually make any of the dishes, this one seemed simple enough to reproduce at home. Simmered silken tofu takes on the texture of a luscious egg custard, and the lightly thickened sauce adds briny flavor without overpowering the delicate tofu.

I usually get little cans of crab meat at the Japanese grocery store, but you might be able to find something similar at regular grocery stores. Otherwise I’m sure fresh crab meat would work just as well.

water to simmer tofu
7 oz tofu cut into 2 pieces

1/2 C dashi (or some kind of stock)
1 tsp corn starch
1/4 C canned crab with juice, crumbled
Salt to taste

Shredded ginger for garnish

Put enough water in a large put to submerge the tofu. Bring to light simmer over low heat.

In a small saucepan, combine the dashi, corn starch, and canned crab and bring to boil. Add salt to make it about as salty as a cup of chicken soup, or to taste.

Use a spatula to carefully (it’s delicate and slippery) lift out the tofu from the water. Cover with the sauce and garnish with ginger.