I am of the opinion that making your own tofu is incredibly time consuming with minimal payoff. That said, nothing beats fresh tofu. However, I am not going to write a tofu-making recipe, at least not right now. What I *am* going to do is show you a very quick, elegant way of serving tofu, either freshly made or right out of one of those aseptic packs.
If your local Asian market stocks fresh tofu, make sure and grab some for this recipe. This is more of a “preparation method” than a recipe, but whatever. Chilled tofu is delicious, high in protein, easy to prepare and great for hot summer days. Silken tofu (the really smooth, soft style) is recommended by every cookbook I’ve seen, but that may stem from an aesthetic intolerance for the textured, firm, made-in-a-farmhouse momen style tofu. Both are delicious, however, so it’s just up to your personal preference. I prefer the rustic over the refined.
Let’s eat some tofu already!
Wait… I just want to dispel something I’ve heard more than a few times, both in RL and online; tofu is *not* “fermented soybean curd”. It isn’t fermented at all (though it can be). Tofu is coagulated soy protein, and is made very similar to farmer’s cheese or yogurt cheese… um, minus the fermentation process. Ok, enough of the talking – let’s do this! \(>W<)/
What you need
- Ingredients
- block of fresh tofu
- Condiments
- 1 Tbsp shoyu
- pinch of crushed bonito flakes
- 1/2 stalk of negi, or 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp grated ginger
What to do
Step 1 – Wrap the block of silken tofu with a few sheets of paper towels and place it on a plate in the refrigerator for an hour or so.
Step 2 – Unwrap the tofu. Cut the block of tofu into bite-size cubes.
Step 3 – Serve condiments alongside the tofu. Seriously, that’s it!
Other condiment ideas
I’ve used some of the following condiments with this dish; spicy mustard, fresh grated wasabi, toasted sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, cracked black pepper, sea salt, vinegar, chili oil, ponzu, shichimi, mayonnaise with chili flakes… Experiment! Let me know in the comments how it turns out.
