Tag Archive for 'Tofu'

Tofu stuffed squid

Published
by
marc
on June 5, 2008
in Japanese and Seafood
. 9 Comments

Over the past month I’ve seen a couple bloggers writing about stuffed squid and it got me curious. Kyoto Foodie posted about ika meshi that they picked up at Takashimaya. Then last night, Jonny at We Are Never Full posted a delightful looking Morcilla Stuffed Squid.

On the way home from work tonight, I stopped by the Japanese grocery and they had some giant squid that was so fresh I could have sworn it winked at me. Taking that as a sign I picked 1 up (yes, just 1, this thing was almost 2 feet long with tentacles). I decided to stuff it with pressed tofu and and some veggies to go along with the cherry blossom rice I’d picked up a mix for.

Having never been a big fan of squid (other than battered and deep fried), I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it, but it was good, not mind blowing, but good. The stuffing was crumbly, savoury and moist with the surrounding squid firm but not chewy, all happily glazed in caramelized teriyaki sauce.

For a veggie alternative I think the tofu mixture would be fantastic stuffed into “age” (deep fried tofu pockets, the things used to make inari sushi) then simmered in some dashi.

What’s your favorite stuffed squid recipe?

Continue for full recipe

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Tofu with crab sauce (Kani ankake doufu)

Published
by
marc
on March 20, 2008
in Japanese, Seafood, Side and Tofu
. 0 Comments

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.

Canned crab meatI 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.

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Red miso soup

Published
by
marc
on March 15, 2008
in Japanese and Soups & Stews
. 2 Comments

Red miso soup with mushrooms and fried tofu

Miso soup is a staple of the Japanese table eaten with meals from breakfast to dinner. Depending on the region of Japan you’re in, you might find yourself starring down at a steaming bowl of white miso soup with okra and taro, or a heady bowl of dark miso soup with deep fried tofu, bamboo and wild mushrooms. Growing up in California, I always looked forward to Saturday morning breakfasts because it meant my mom was making Japanese food for the two of us and western food for my sister and step-father.

As I mentioned in my last post, the dashi (stock) that you use to make miso soup is what makes or breaks the soup. There’s a recipe below for the dashi, or you can opt to use one of the 2 kinds of instant dashi.

I vary the ingredients based on what I have in my fridge, but you can put just about any veggie into this soup from carrots, to potatoes, to cabbage to bean sprouts.

For Dashi
2 C water
10 niboshi with heads removed
1 3″ long piece of dried konbu

For Soup
1 Tbs + 1 Tsp red miso paste
1 Tsp Mirin
Handful of Nameko mushrooms (or Enoki)
2″ x 2″ piece of Abura Age (deep fried tofu) cut into small squares
1 scallion sliced thin

mitsuba (optional garnish)

For the dashi, simmer the ingredients over low heat for 10-15 minutes. If you have a teaball, or disposable tea bags, I like putting the niboshi in one so they’re easier to retrieve when the stock is done. Make sure it does not boil as this could make the soup cloudy or bitter. Taste it… it should be deep, slightly smoky and full of umami. Now just fetch all the floaties and your done with the dashi (you might need to run it through a strainer).

To make the soup, put the miso and mirin in a bowl and add some dashi to help disolve the miso. Put this mixture into the pot and bring it to a light simmer. Make sure it does not boil as this will make the miso separate.

Add the Aburaage (pronounced Abura-a-ge the middle “a” sounds like the “a” in “amish” and the “ge” sounds like the “ga” in “Gary”) and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle the scallions in at the very end just before you serve the soup.

Once it’s in the bowls you can add some Mitsuba. It’s a bit hard to find (you’ll have to go to a japanese grocery store), and there isn’t really a suitable replacement, but it adds a wonderful cedar aroma to the soup that carries you away to a misty evergreen forest.

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Mapo Tofu (Marpo Doufu)

Published
by
marc
on March 10, 2008
in Chinese, Japanese, Pork and Tofu
. 5 Comments

Mabo Tofu

For the same reasons people love antiques or old Victorian houses, I love foods of legend that have a story behind them. I had a fairly intense day presenting to the entire partnership of a venture capital firm (with 3 continents video conferenced in).

While some might consider cooking a stressful activity reserved for days with lots of time, I actually see it as quite the opposite. When I got home I wanted to make a food from my childhood that’s both familiar and comforting.

Depending on who you ask, you’ll probably get a different story about the origins of Mapo Tofu, but the commonly accepted myth is that this dish was created by an old woman with meager means who cooked it for weary travelers that happened upon her shack along a remote country road. Some versions go on to say she once cooked the dish for the emperor of China.

Whatever the history, the dish was appropriated by my people in more recent history and is as common as mac & cheese on a Japanese dinner table. Asian groceries stock packets of sauce you just heat up with tofu, but that would be cheating, and it’s not much harder to make from scratch. I usually make this with varying spices, sauces and veggies, but I figured I should document something to give y’all a starting point.

1 Tbs dark miso
2 Tbs Mirin or other sweet cooking wine
1 Tbs oyster sauce
2 tsp asian chili sauce (Tobanjan, Gochujang, Sriracha, etc)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp corn starch
1/4 cup water

2 cloves of garlic minced
1 Tbs ginger minced
1/2 lbs. ground meat (I use pork but you can use turkey, beef, or veggies like eggplant)
14oz package silken tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 scallions sliced thin

Mix the first group of ingredients in a bowl to make the sauce. Adjust seasonings as you see fit.

Put a splash of oil in a hot saute pan and fry the garlic and ginger until fragrant.

Add the ground meat and break it up with a wooden spoon. When the meat is cooked, drain off any excess oil and add the sauce mixture.

Stir to combine, then add the tofu. If the sauce seems thick (or non-existent), add some water and cook until the tofu is heated through. If you’re using silken tofu, be careful not to mash up the tofu too much.

Stir in the scallions just before taking it off the heat and serve with white rice.

I make different versions of this sauce depending on what’s in the fridge and as always I encourage you to experiment with what you have. Some things I’ve tried include Szechwan pepper, chinese 5 spice powder, hoisin sauce, dengjang with varying amounts of chili sauce (I like it spicy). For vegetarians, you can leave out the meat, or include veggies like red bell peppers, onions, or eggplant.

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