Tofu : tout !

Reblog from the “tofu page”

It’s compilation on the tofu topic…I add data regularly.

3 main tofu textures :

You have Japanese tofu that is :
kinu-dofu, silky tofu
momen-dofu, cotton tofu (translated as *firm tofu* in English)
Both are soft and watery. The first is very soft like egg pudding, the second is soft like starch pudding.
Really firm and dry tofu, the one that has a texture closer to meat is popular in China. It’s uncommon in Japan, except ….

Bottom line : If you like firm tofu…

Golden unohana, the fiber up salad (via GiO)

This is a salad of unohana or okara (soy fibers)…

Leafy daikon in 5 dishes

Eat your greens. Eat your radish greens…

Japanese big radish daikon is now very well known over the world. What fewer people know is, like other radishes, they have delicious leaves. In Osaka too, many people cut out the pompom of their daikon and let in the shop… so I can have that for free. Arigato ! These are cultivated for the leaves. It’s not free, but still very cheap. They are often prepared in tsukemono (the whole root + leaves), but this time the root is a bit small for that.

That could be this type of tsukemono :
wasabi leave tsukemono

You can use leaves of small radish or of big daikon for the following recipes, if you can get enough green.
I like having many variations for an ingredient.

So we can have 2 hot dishes :

Mini-daikon miso soup
Nameko eggs with daikon leaves

3 cold dishes :

Daikon sesame unohana (click here for recipe).
Leafy miso
Water tsukemono of leafy daikon

I am stupid… as I wanted to make a chart showing what part I used to make each dish. I did, and for the 3, there are 2 wrong.
On top, you can see : leaves only (for leafy miso), tender stalks (for unohana) and the last is correct, the whole plant for the water tsukemono.

Leafy miso :

Take small or big leaves of daikon. Cut them if necessary. Rince, let dry. In a wok or a frying pan, without oil or anything, put the leaves and stir-them till they lose 1/2 volume. Add white sesame seeds, stir a little. Add brown miso, and mix in on moderate heat.
You can use this as a topping for rice, veggies, etc…

Water tsukemono :

No fuss : cut the cleaned whole plant, radish and leaves. Cut fresh hot chili. Add sea salt and fresh water. As you can see on photos, water was absorbed after a few minutes, I add to add some. Let 2 hours on the counter, then keep refrigerated. Wait 1 day. Keep 2 to 5 days.

Nanakusa o-kayu, the New Year porridge is made with that type of daikon too.

nanakusa okayu

Sesame daikon unohana

Japan has no tabouleh, it has unohana (okara soy fiber “salad”). Today a grey-green variation. Someday I’ll post the classic Japanese style. The thing is I like modifying it. Previously you could see (click on text) :

golden unohana

It is quite neutral, so many flavorings are possible.

It’s dried okara. To know how you can make this okara click here.
To dry it, I put it in a sauce pan without oil or anything, on moderate heat, stirring sometimes, till it’s cooked and well dry.

Then I have added powdered black sesame (grind seeds in a coffee mill or in a mortar).

The tender stalks of daikon radish leaves. White onion. Raisin. Salt. Water.
With the liquid, the okara tripled of volume. All that simmered a few minutes. Then I’ve let it cool.

I really loved this version, green and nutty. I’ll make it again.

Other leafy daikon small plates (coming soon).

Tofu and faux tofu

It’s compilation on the tofu topic…

Tofu is soy milk curded with nigari. But some other products not based on soy milk are called tofu because of their texture and appearance.
Tofu ? dofu ? toufu ? doufu ? The only proper spelling is 豆腐. It’s a matter of transcription. The “t” tends to become a “d” in second part of words in Japanese. And in Chinese it’s written “d” and you read “t”. And the “o” is long.

Choosing tofu :

There are huge differences of quality. It can be delicious or absolutely terrible. I wouldn’t want to eat again in this life time all the weirdly packaged tofus I have eaten in Europe and North-America. Maybe I had bad luck. Also in the US, the soy is GMO.

The second thing is you have to buy the right type.
Most Westerners don’t really understand the different types, and I’ve been there too. So maybe this can help. It’s a simplification, but start here :

3 main tofu textures :

You have Japanese tofu that is :
kinu-dofu, silky tofu
momen-dofu, cotton tofu (translated as *firm tofu* in English)
Both are soft and watery. The first is very soft like egg pudding, the second is soft like starch pudding.
Really firm and dry tofu, the one that has a texture closer to meat is popular in China. It’s uncommon in Japan, except in Okinawa, were Japanese and Chinese traditions cross their path. So here it is called 島豆腐 shima tofu, “island tofu“, and in Osaka, I have to buy in “ethnic stores”.
The 3 are made with different recipes.

Bottom line : If you like soft tofu, buy it from a Japanese maker (well, a maker making ingredients for Japanese cuisine as of course it’s not a question of nationality). If you like firm tofu, buy it from a Chinese or an Okinawan maker. Other Asian countries tend to make the firm varieties traditionally.

Gourmande’s home-made tofu :

Basic recipe :
ultra fresh torori tofu (from soy milk and nigari)