Koyadofu tteokbokki, cooking Korean street’s sticks of fire.

Today, I’ve made tteokbokki that I call tokkpokki because that’s how I hear it and remember when I have no spell-checker. Yes, that’s hot !

Here are the ingredients :
-the ttoek are Korean mochi or blocks of rice paste. For this dish the cylinder shape is common.
-veggies (carrot, onion, garlic)
-sauce
-a protein, here tofu (that could be strings of meat, slices of fishcake or boiled egg)

The spicy Korean miso, gochujang. I’ve added paprika powder for more redness, and 2 dried hot chilis for spiciness. That way you can choose the level of hotness you wish.

Koyadofu is freeze-dried tofu. The hard blocks can be re-hydrated in water in a few minutes.

They become like sponges. I had one big block that I cut in slices.

I add the different ingredients, the sauce, water, then the ttoek and let simmer half an hour. Salt, sugar, hot chili can be added to taste.

That’s ready.

Sanchu, Korean salad. That’s not what Koreans do but I like it as a side here.

A glass of makkoli rice drink.

The meal was complete with kimchi, and green jeon pancakes.

For more : Korean Compil’

Koya-dofu soup. Reviving dry food.

A Winter soup made from a good old style broth, and a selection of dry food from my pantry.

高野豆腐 kouyadoufu
These blocks are hard, a dry moss like the green one you get to pick flowers in it, but in white. It’s tofu. Dried tofu.

koya Source Koyasan HP

Mount Koya, or Koyasan, is the name of a mountain, inhabited by a community of Buddhist monks, near Nara. They had the idea (or they imported it from China) to dry the tofu on freezing days, and it seems they invented the freeze-dry technique.
The dried tofu changes of textures, becomes like a sponge and it can be stored many months. It’s also very light in weight. It’s very convenient to stock tofu, and to take some when you travel.
When rehydrated, it doubles of volume, and I could cut it slices with scissors as contrarily to fresh tofu, it doesn’t crumbles. The taste is a little different too, more milky.

Here the items of my soup. There is also wakame sea weed, not on this photo.

TIPS :
To rehydrate dry food, cover it with lukewarm liquid. If possible, the liquid should not be salted otherwise it slows the process.
To speed it up, in the case of dry plants like fruits, mushrooms, even rice, you can add a little honey or diluted sugar.
To speed it up in case of protein-rich food like this koyadofu or beans, it’s better to have alkaline water. If yours is acidic, you can add baking soda to it.

more info about dry food

Home-made broth. I have well broken the bones so they released their extract and made the broth very white, full of nutrients.
Then it’s very simple :
-put the dry items, and some fresh minced ginger in a pan/bowl. Cover with warmed broth, add a pinch of sugar.
-wait 20 minutes
-cut the tofu. Add salt to taste. Re-heat.

Mmm… a delicious soup full of juicy items.

With glue-glue sauce

A surprising spicy and playful vegan lunch. That’s very simple. I was not really inspired for the tittle.

3 quick plates :
-pasta,
–natto (fermented soy beans) with steamed okra mixed with mustard
-freeze-dry tofu stir-fry

You can buy Koya-dofu (blocks of dried tofu) and rehydrate them, or freeze some leftover of fresh tofu (squeeze well after defrosting). The tofu takes a sponge-like texture and a milky after-taste. I briefly pasted them in soy sauce, turmeric and sansho (Japanese Sichuan paper) and stir-fried with the beans, olive oil and garlic.
That’s really full of flavor and a set of interesting textures.

Both okra and natto have their “glue” texture. Mix and play.

Garden lunch : bento chirashi

The rose sushi goes to the park for lunch….

making the chirashi

Steamed : Okra, leek whites and a shiitake.

Raw sliced Japanse turnip.

Grilled : miso sawara mackerel , with kinome.
seikyozuke sawara

Ready to go under the Sun.

Chirashi, composing a bouquet of sushi

Bara sushi (rose sushi), chirashi covered with decorative items like the ground is covered by flowers in Spring.
The rice is also flavored. This is not the most classic version.