tofu

Baked Kuri Squash and Apple Maple Pudding (and it's vegan too)

maki — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:33:06 +0100

This very healthy squash pudding from the archives manages to still taste good. I think it would make a very good side dish to a Thanksgiving dinner, from which vegans and vegetarians can partake of without feeling deprived. It is not that sweet - probably less sweet than many traditional side dishes. I hope you give it a try! Originally published November 19, 2007, and tweaked a bit - note the addition of a little miso!

You know how certain diehard carnivores react to words like ‘vegan’ ‘no dairy’ and, gasp, ‘tofu in a sweet dish’. There’s no reason to tell them that all of these phrases are applicable to this smooth, creamy baked squash pudding, until they’ve actually eaten and enjoyed. It even is devoid of white sugar, though it is sweetened with maple syrup. The simple combination of creamy squash pudding, flavored and sweetened with real maple syrup with the pure sweetness of the squash shining through, and sweet-sourness of the apples works perfectly together. (The tofu merely adds the creamy texture; you don’t taste it at all.) It’s rich, but rests very lightly on your stomach - not a bad thing after a heavy main course.

This recipe is adapted quite heavily from one in a Japanese cookbook, Saisai Sweets (Vegetable Sweets), by the wonderful Yumiko Kano, who I have mentioned previously. The original recipe called for soy milk, but I’ve used silken tofu instead for a richer, thicker consistency. I’ve omitted other things like rum-soaked raisins, and upped the maple syrup for more sweetness.

Vegan Baked Kuri Squash and Apple Maple Pudding (or crustless pie)

This will make a pudding or a crustless pie that is about 10 inches / 28cm or so in diameter, enough for 6 to 8 servings (though I’ve seen one disappear in one person recently).

I’ve given weight measurements rather than cup measurements, because the proportion of squash to tofu is what’s the most important thing here. Scale up or down according to your needs.

1 lb (450-500g) of cooked red kuri or Hokkaido squash, skin on, or roasted butternut squash or other sweet, dense winter squash, flesh only (see below for how to cook the squash)
1 block (300g / about 11 oz) silken tofu, well drained
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
A few gratings of nutmeg (about 1/4 tsp.)
2 Tbs. neutral tasting vegetable oil, such as sunflower
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 Tbs. mild, smooth white miso
8 Tbs. real maple syrup (not ‘pancake syrup’ or ‘imitation maple syrup’), plus extra for drizzling on top
2 medium sweet eating apples
1 Tbs. lemon juice

Equipment needed: food processor, a pie or quiche or tart dish

If you are doing this for Thanksgiving, cook the squash ahead of time - up to 2-3 days in advance.

To cook the red kuri squash, either: cut in half and scoop out the seeds and fluffy bits in the middle. Poke several holes in the skin side with the point of your knife. Lay cut side down in a baking dish filled with about 1/2 inch / 1 cm of water. Bake at 350° F / 180° C until soft - a skewer poked through the skin side should go through easily. Drain away any left over water.

Alternate method in a pan: de-seed, de-fluffy bit and cut up the squash into about 1 inch / 2cm chunks. Put in a very heavy pan (such as a cast iron enamel one) with enough water to come up to about 1/2 of the squash chunks. Simmer, lid on, until the chunks are tender; drain away any excess water.

If you are using butternut squash, which has a much harder skin than red kuri squash, bake in the oven cut in half as above until tender.

Cool the squash after cooking to about room temperature. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator.

To make the pudding:

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C (if it’s not already on of course.)

Put the cooked squash (skin and all if you are using red kuri squash - see notes), tofu, oil, salt, miso and maple syrup into the bowl of a food processor with the steel chopping blade. Process until totally smooth - you may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times. Taste at this point, and see if you want to add more maple syrup (but remember you will be drizzling more syrup on top later).

In the meantime, peel and core two medium eating apples. (I used Cox’s Orange. You want a sweet, eating apple, not a hard, sour cooking apple here. Golden Delicious is a universally available type that will work fine here.) Slice into thin wedges, and toss into some acidulated water (water with a little lemon juice in it) to stop the slices from turning brown. Drain well and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel.

Fill the tart or pie dish with the pumpkin cream. Arrange the apples in a nice pattern on the cream, pushing down each slice a bit (they will sink a little, but this is a very dense cream.) Drizzle the top with more maple syrup. Alternatively, sprinkle with maple sugar if you have it.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is lightly browned.

This pudding, or crustless pie, is great warm, at room temperature or chilled.

Notes

If you don’t have real maple syrup, try a flavorful clear runny honey instead.
If you can’t get a hold of kuri squash, you can substitute another squash, preferably a kabocha type, that is denser and sweeter than most other types. Try butternut squash, rouge d’Etampes or Muscat (Musque de Provence). Do not use regular pumpkin - it is far too watery and fibrous.
The orange skin of the kuri squash cooks up quite soft, and the orange adds to the vibrant color of the pudding. If using other, more tough-skinned squash varieties, just scoop out the flesh and discard the skins.
If you don’t care about keeping it all vegan, use butter instead of the oil. Dot the top with more butter. Butter does tend to improve everything.
Try ripe pears instead of apples.

Kouya Dofu or Kohya Dofu, Freeze Dried Tofu

maki — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:04:12 +0100

I’ve talked a little about kohya dofu or kouya dofu (高野豆腐）in the past, but I thought I’d describe it in detail so that I can refer back to it when I use this very versatile Japanese pantry staple in recipes.

Kouya dofu is freeze dried tofu. It’s a long lasting pantry staple of most Japanese households. It comes in plastic packaging, usually 5 to a pack, like so:

Each square is about the size of a business card, and about 1cm or 1/2 inch or so thick. Each kouya dofu square is about 90 calories. They look like dehydrated squares of bread, or one of those sponges that you soak in water to reconstitute and use. The packets require no refrigeration.

Indeed, it is a sponge - a block of tofu that’s been reduced to its cell structure. It’s a very old traditional preserved food, that probably got invented by accident when someone left out some tofu in the winter and it froze solid. It’s made by repeatedly freezing and thawing tofu, until all the moisture can be extracted.

Usually, kouya dofu is used by reconstituting it first. The easiest way is to soak it for a while in boiling water to cover. When the water has cooled down enough for the tofu to be taken out and genty squeezed, it’s ready to use. It swells up to about 3-4 times its original size.

From here, you can just cut it up and use it in soups or stews. You can also marinate it. It has a more dense and firm texture than regular tofu, and like regular tofu it soaks up any flavor it is soaked or cooked in. It’s usually stewed in a standard japanse soy sauce - mirin - sake - dashi - sugar mixture.

Here I’ve cooked some reconstituted kouya dofu in the same way that I cooked frozen tofu cutlets, to make kouya dofu nuggets. But I didn’t have to take the time to freeze and defrost regular tofu. The results are much ‘meatier’ than nuggets made with frozen regular tofu. You might even be able to fool some unsuspecting people into think it’s some sort of meat….

Another interesting way of using kouya dofu is to turn it into a powder by grating it or whizzing it in a food processor. The powder can be used instead of breadcrumbs, as a filler or binder in burgers and meatballs. This can be a good thing for celiacs and gluten intolerant people. The spongy texture soaks up any excess moisture and flavors. And of course, it provides and extra protain boost.

In Japan, kouya dofu is very cheap. Outside of Japan it can be more expensive, but the packet of 5 in the photo above was only $1.99 at Nara Foods in Port Washington, Long Island. So, look for it next time you are in a Japanese grocery store and give it a try, especially if you or someone you cook for has gluten allergies, or are vegan or vegetarian.

Looking at tofu

maki — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:16:56 +0200

There are several tofu recipes both here in Just Hungry as well as on Just Bento, and I’ve even shown how to make your own tofu. However, up until now I have never really tried to explain the differences between types of tofu, when to use them and how to store them. Well now is the time to fix that.

Fried tofu type 1: Aburaage

Aburaage （油揚げ）is deep fried tofu, where almost none of the soft white tofu remains. It’s also called tofu skin or tofu pocket sometimes. When the tofu is deep fried, an air pocket is formed inside which can be stuffed, as in inarizushi or eggs in treasure bags. Besides stuffing it, you can use aburaage sliced up and put into soups or stir-fries, gently cooked whole in a broth as in kitsune udon, and more.

To get rid of the excess oil on the surface, blanch aburaage in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drain away. To loosen it up so that it’s easier to stuff, roll a round chopstick over the surface several times after blanching to loosen it up, then cut open.

The best way to store aburaage for longer than a few days is to freeze it. (The bag in the photo is actualy frozen.)

Japanese aburaage is always a rectangular sheet, but you can get small puffs or squares in Chinese markets.

Fried tofu type 2: Atsuage or namaage

Atsuage （厚揚げ）or namaage （生揚げ）is a block of tofu that has been slowly fried in oil until it forms a slightly crinkly pale brown skin. It’s stil white tofu inside though, unlike aburaage. You can get rid of the excess oil on the surface just like with aburaage, by blanching it in boiling water. Aburaage is a very versatile food, that can be pan-fried or grilled like a steak, cut up and used in stir-fries or stewed, put into soups and so on. I like using aburaage in bento recipes a lot - because it has less moisture than non-fried tofu, it keeps longer.

The two main types of plain tofu

Finally we get to plain tofu. Plain tofu can be divided into two main types: silken or kinugoshi （絹ごし）, and firm or pressed. In Japanese firm tofu is called momen （木綿）or cotton tofu. Here are a block of each: silken on the left, and firm/cotton on the right.

Here are the blocks from the side:

As you can see, the silken tofu is smoother and more watery, while the firm/cotton tofu is well, firmer and denser. Since silken tofu is much softer (higher water content), it is harder to handle if you want the tofu pieces to not fall apart. So if you are a tofu beginner and you want to use it on stir-fries or things like bacon wrapped tofu, you will want to use firm tofu. Firm tofu is less liable to fall apart, especially if you drain off the water a bit. Some recipes call for extracting even more water from the tofu (see using tofu for bento friendly recipes). On the other hand, silken tofu is more suited for recipes that call for it to be pureed, such as quick tofu pudding and baked squash and apple pudding, or in smoothies. I prefer silken tofu in miso soup, though firm is fine too.

Some other tofu types not pictured here

I don’t have these on hand so pictures are missing…

Yaki dofu （焼き豆腐）is firm tofu that’s been grilled on the outside, giving it a nice flavor.

Kouya dofu （高野豆腐）is freeze-dried tofu that is sold in the dried food section. It looks like little dried beige sponges. This is reconstituted in water before stewing. It can be a good pantry staple because it keeps indefinitely.

Yuba　（湯葉） is a Kyoto speciality. Thin films of tofu are scooped off the top of vats of warm soy milk. It’s available in dried form and is usually used in soups and such. Fresh yuba made from fresh warm soy milk is considered a great delicacy and is usually eaten with a litle soy sauce, yuzu juice and such.

How to keep tofu fresh

Once you open the vacuum sealed pack the tofu comes in, any leftovers must be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, immersed in water. You will need to change the water every day too, but in any case don’t keep opened tofu for more than 2 or 3 days. (With homemade tofu the shelf life is even shorter - a maximum of 2 days.) If you leave tofu out of water for more than a day in the fridge, it will take on a sour taste, not to mention picking up stray refrigerator smells! It is possible to freeze tofu (see frozen tofu cutlets) but the texture will change.

As mentioned above, aburaage can be frozen. Firm atsuage can also be frozen, though the inner texture will change a bit.

Calories in tofu products

Per 100 grams or about 3.5 oz:

Aburaage: 386 calories (one piece is about 20-25g) This is the calorie count before getting rid of the surface oil, so after it’s cooked it would be a bit lower in calories.
Atsuage: 150 calories - (one piece is anywhere from 100 to 200g, depending on the brand etc.) This is the calorie count before getting rid of surface oil.
Silken tofu: 56 calories
Firm/cotton tofu: 72 calories
Yaki dofu: same as firm tofu
Kouya dofu (dry weight):　590 calories
Kouya dofu (cooked weight): 130 calories
Yuba (cooked weight): 150 calories

What about those stories I hear about soy being good for you/bad for you?

Whenever I write about soy or tofu products here, I usually get some comments or emails about how soy products are either bad for you (the current trend - makes men grow breasts and so on) or good for you (prevents certain types of cancer and what have you).

My attitude about these types of reports is this: Tofu has been eaten for hundreds or thousands of years. Generally speaking soy products are a great source of vegetable based protein and fat. And in any case, no one should be eating massive quantities of any one food product every day of the week, as seems to be the case with those reports of body builders taking lots of soy protein powder and sprouting boobies and such. Even the most die hard tofu fan in Japan, like my mother, does not eat tofu every single day. (For what it’s worth, she has IBD and finds tofu to be one of the few easily digestible proteins.) Variety is the spice of life, and your diet! See also: A problematic report on the dangers of soy.

Hopefully most if not all of your tofu related questions have been answered here. If not, ask away in the comments!

Bacon wrapped tofu

maki — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:40:07 +0100

Bacon. Tofu. Two proteins on the opposite ends of the food social scale. One is revered, serenaded, hailed as the food of the Gods. The other is reviled, sneered at, as being bland, boring, even disgusting.

When I saw this conflict depicted as bendable figurines (via Serious Eats) I had to do something to end this conflict.

The only reason why tofu is put down is because of its mishandling by well meaning but unskilled cooks who focused only on its healthy benefits. There are plenty of Westerners who hate tofu, but you’d be hard put to find many Asians who do. That is becase in eastern Asian cuisines, tofu is infused with other flavors, as it should be.

So, back to the bacon and tofu. This is actually not an uncommon dish in Japanese households. It’s called either just bacon tofu (or tofu bacon) or even bacon tofu steak. The salty bacon-ness of the bacon infuses the bland tofu, and the two marry together to become a tasty morsel that’s good hot or cold. It’s salty-crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. (Yes, it’s good for bento - here is one that features it!)

Bacon wrapped tofu

1 block firm tofu
Several strips of bacon, depending on the size. A leaner type bacon is preferred. You can even use proscuitto.
Optional: brown sugar, soy sauce

Drain the tofu, and wrap in several layers of paper towels. Place on a plate and put a board or another plate on top. Leave for a few minutes to drain some water out of the tofu. Unwrap and cut into bite sized pieces that are about the width of your bacon.

Wrap each piece in bacon, going around at least once so the ends overlap. You may need to cut the bacon.

Heat up a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Put the bacon wrapped tofu pieces with the overlapping edges side down. Cook until crisp, then turn. Keep cooking and turning until done on all sides.

A sweet-salty variation is to add a little bit of soy sauce to the pan, and a sprinkle (maybe about 2 tsp.) of brown sugar; stir rapidly to melt the sugar, then turn the bacon-tofu in the sauce until the moisture has largely evaporated.

Eat hot or at room temperature, preferably with plain rice as part of a Japanese meal. Also a nice appetizer or sake drinking accompaniment.

(Addendum: If you are visiting from Chow.com, howdy! Just to make it clear, I have nothing to do with that suggestion to combine a veggie burger with bacon and call it the “Hypocrite”(!!) That sort of statement is like, so not me.)

A tofu making kit on eBay

maki — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 11:10:44 +0100

A question I get asked a lot is where to find the stainless steel tofu mold/press shown in action in my tofu making article. While I don’t have a ready online source for something like that yet, I have seen plastic molds, which should be just as handy.

For example here’s one sold as part of a tofu press kit on eBay. You can also search on “tofu kit” on eBay for other results.

Righteous tofu pudding in under 5 minutes

maki — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 14:32:28 +0100

One of the things I like to do with tofu that didn’t quite come together is to turn it into a pudding. Now I do not pretend to you that this tastes like a proper pudding or mousse made with cream and such, and if anyone tries to convince you that a tofu based dish like this is ‘just as good/rich as the real thing’ they are either lying or have no taste buds. It’s different, but still good. It’s a lightly sweet, cool and creamy dish that will quiet a sudden urge for Something Sweet. Since it’s quite healthy it will leave you feeling righteous, thus the name.

It’s also a dish that you can whip up in no time at all. I realize that many of the recipes here take a lot of time, effort or both, and I’m going to try to rectify that. Look for recipes with the quickcook or under 10 tags.

Righteous tofu pudding

1 cup of mashed up fresh tofu (a small block of either silken or firm tofu, or a mixture)
3 Tbs maple syrup, sugar, or sweetener of your choice (see notes)
Flavoring: a few drops of vanilla extract, almond extract, or 2 Tbs. cocoa powder (optional)

If the tofu seems a bit watery, squeeze it lightly in a non-terry cloth towel or several layers of paper towel.

Place the tofu, sweetener and flavoring in a blender and blend until totally smooth. If you don’t have a blender, push it through a fine meshed sieve or mash it up as fine as possible with a fork.

Serve cooled with optional extra syrup, honey etc. on top if you so desire. The one in the photo is flavored with maple syrup with additional maple syrup on top.

Notes

Try to use a superfine sugar - granulated may be a bit gritty. You can of course use an artificial sweetener.

Silken tofu will make a rather loose pudding, while firm tofu will make a more substantial pudding.

Troubleshooting homemade tofu

maki — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 13:43:19 +0100

Recently reader Joanna emailed asking why her home made tofu was, while creamy, not turning into an actual block of tofu. This happens to me sometimes too. The non-coagulated creamy tofu (which looks rather like fresh ricotta) can still be used in ganmodoki and other recipes that call for mashed up tofu, so it doesn’t have to go to waste. Still, it is disappointing when, after all the trouble you’ve gone to to make tofu, your carefully formed block disintegrates instead of holding firm.

There are a few things you can do to avoid this. One thing not to do is to add more and more coagulant, since this will adversely affect the flavor. Adding too much nigari for instance will make the tofu very salty and unpleasantly bitter.

Don’t use old beans. Ideally buy beans that have a manufacture/packing date or expiry date on them, or buy from a source where you are reasonably sure of the freshness of the beans.
Don’t oversoak the beans. 8 hours seems to be the optimum soaking time. If you oversoak the beans they seem to lose their coagulating power.
Don’t under or overcook the ground up soy bean mixture. Bring it up to a boil then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
When adding the coagulant, make sure the soy milk is at the right temperature - around 75°C / 165°F, and no higher than 80°C / 175°F. You may want to use a thermometer if you are unsure.
Make sure your coagulant is good. If it came with instructions, follow them carefully. I got a supply of liquid nigari from a tofu maker recently, which didn’t work at all until I realizedit was actually concentrated!
Finally, and this may seem obvious - handle your tofu block very very gently.

What else to do with mashed up tofu

Mashed up tofu is a very neutral substance that can be used in a lot of ways. You can add it to any kind of meatball mixture for instance, to make the meatballs lighter (see the recipe for okara meatballs, which has some tofu in it). You can also make it extra-smooth by passing it through a sieve or whizzing it up in a blender, and using it as a sort of cream. Just remember that if you heat it, the water will evaporate and the texture will get grainier.

One very simple thing to do with mashed up tofu is to turn it into a pudding.

Ganmodoki or Hiryouzu: Japanese tofu fritters

maki — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 14:49:07 +0100

Ganmodoki or hiryouzu are small deep-fried fritters made of tofu and various ingredients. They are either eaten as-is or cooked in a broth. They are used as a meat substitute in sho-jin ryouri, vegan buddhist cuisine. (They are supposed to taste like deer meat, though they don’t at all.)

Ganmodoki is sold pre-made in supermarkets, in the refrigerated section, and is usually eaten in an oden, a sort of stew of various fishcakes and such. But store bought ganmodoki, which has the texture of a sponge, is nothing like freshly made ganmodoki. Once you have tried a freshly made, piping hot ganmodoki, it’s just about impossible to think about saving them for later.

I have tried baking these or pan-frying them instead of deep frying, but the texture just isn’t the same. It just demands that crispy-crunchy delicate crust given by the oil. If it’s any consolation, they don’t really absorb much oil.

Yamaimo

One ingredient that gets omitted in a lot of English-language ganmodoki recipes is yamaimo, often called Japanese Yam. It is a root vegetable that is tremendously viscous in texture, sort of like the inside of an okra. It gives a sort of bouncy yet light texture to whatever it’s added to. You can find fresh yamaimo in the produce section of Japanese grocery stores, cut into sections and wrapped in plastic. It’s quite expensive but you usually only need a little bit of it, and keeps quite well in the refrigerator well as long as you re-wrap it in plastic to prevent the ends from oxidizing. The cut ends were traditionally dipped in some fine sawdust for storage. You may also be able to find yamaimo powder (Note to European readers - Japan Centre in the UK carries this). Regular grated potato can be used as a substitute if you can’t find yamaimo - it gives a different texture but still adds that sort of bouncy quality. It has to be grated to a fine pulp, not into shreds.

The other ingredients

All the additions to ganmodoki are there to add texture, umami, or both. You can vary it quite a bit by adding things that capture your imagination. You can even turn it into a more Western-flavored item by adding things like green peas, finely chopped and cooked mushrooms, and so on, and eating them with a bit of Worcestershire sauce or even ketchup. However, to my mind the traditional Japanese flavor is the best.

Ganmodoki

400g / 10oz firm tofu, as fresh as possible
1 dried shiitake mushroom, reconstituted in water, squeezed dry, and finely chopped
About 2 Tbs finely grated (into shreds) carrot
2 Tbs finely chopped green onion
3 Tbs. finely grated (to a pulp) yamaimo or potato
1 egg white or egg white substitute
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. corn or potato starch
Oil for deep frying

Optional additions - choose one or several. I’ve listed them in the order I prefer them:

1 Tbs. canned or blanched gingko nuts, roughly chopped or whole if you have tiny ones
1 Tbs. dried sakura ebi (tiny little shrimp)
1 Tbs. boiled edamame beans (don’t add both gingko and edamame, use one or the other)
1 Tbs. cooked hijiki
1-2 kikurage (tree-ear mushrooms), reconstituted in water, squeezed dry, and finely chopped (instead of the shiitake, or use 1/2 shiitake and 1/2 kikurage)

Dipping sauce: karashi jo-yu (mustard soy sauce)

Drain the tofu, and wrap in a clean non-terrycloth kitchen towel. Place on a cutting board, then put another cutting board or similar flat item on top of the tofu. Place a weight on top (such as a small pan filled with water) and leave for about 15-20 minutes, to drain out some of the moisture from the tofu.

In the meantime, very briefly blanch the carrot in boiling water (about a minute).

If the tofu still feels a bit web, put the tofu in another cloth and squeeze very gently - you don’t want the tofu to be totally dry, it should be the texture of small curd cottage cheese. Mash up the tofu with your hands or with a potato masher.

Mix all the ingredients with or without the optional additions in a bowl, until it’s rather creamy.

Heat the oil to about 160°C / 320°F. Form the tofu mixture into small patties and fry 2-3 at a time (don’t overcrowd the frying pot).

Drain well, and serve immediately with soy sauce and mustard (karashi jo-yu). They are also pretty good at room temperature, so are great for obento (pack with a soy sauce foil packet or wee plastic bottle).

Ganmodoki

maki — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:49:29 +0100

Two Classic Japanese Tofu Dishes: Hiyayakko and Agedashi Dofu

maki — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 17:23:08 +0200

What's the best way to eat really fresh tofu? My favorite every time is hiyayakko (cold tofu), but agedashi-dofu (deep fried tofu with dashi sauce) is a close second.

Hiyayakko is plain chilled tofu with a little garnish on top. You can add any number of garnishes, but my favorite is simply finely chopped green onion, grated fresh ginger, and bonito flakes, with a little sprinkle of soy sauce. Don't add too much soy sauce or it will mask the delicate flavor of the tofu. In the summer months I could eat this every day. At least half of my square of home made tofu gets eaten as hiyayakko every time. In the summer, some finely julienned shiso leaves make a nice addition too, as are toasted sesame seeds, red chili powder, and so on. Think of what you might like to put on top and go for it!

Agedashi-dofu is deep fried tofu with a simple dashi-stock based sauce. It's not the same as aburaage (thin deep-fried tofu) or atsuage (thick deep-fried tofu), since agedashi is coated with flour and meant to be eaten right away. It's a very delicate dish, so be sure you are ready to serve this immediately.

The key to deep frying tofu is to press it a bit so that excess water is drained out of it. To do this, wrap the tofu piece in a cloth or in a couple of layers of paper towel, place on a cutting board, and place another cutting board on top. Put a cup of water or some other small weight on top of of the covering cutting board and leave to drain for about 30 minutes.

In the meantime, make a simple sauce of 4 parts dashi stock to 1 part plain soy sauce, and keep warm. If you have a bottle of mentsuyu (concentrated noodle soup base) or you've made my Japanese essence, you can use this also, diluted with hot water at a 5:1 or so ratio. Grate some daikon radish to put on top.

Unwrap and wipe the tofu, and coat in white flour, Fry in fresh peanut oil until a light golden brown on all sides. Drain well, put a couple of pieces into a small bowl, put plenty of grated daikon radish on top, and pour the dashi sauce over. Eat while piping hot.