Tofu Dengaku Recipes

BROILED TOFU WITH MISO (TOFU DENGAKU)

Steps:

• Pat tofu dry with paper towels, then wrap in fresh paper towels and put in a microwave-safe dish (see cooks' note, below). Microwave at high power 30 seconds. Pour off any liquid and wrap tofu in fresh paper towels. Microwave 1 or 2 more times for 30 seconds each time, pouring off any liquid, until tofu feels firmer.
• Preheat broiler.
• Stir together miso, sugar, and sake in a small saucepan. (If miso mixture is very thick, stir in 1 tablespoon water.) Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until bubbling, glossy, and the consistency of ketchup, 1 to 3 minutes.
• Cut tofu in half horizontally and arrange, cut sides up, on a cutting board. Cut each half into 6 squares (pieces might not be perfectly square).
• Arrange tofu on a foil-lined broiler pan, cut sides up, and broil about 2 inches from heat until a crust just forms, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from oven and spread crusted side of each square with about 3/4 teaspoon miso mixture. Broil until tops are just bubbling and starting to color, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Skewer each square with 1 two-pronged pick or 2 parallel straight picks. Sprinkle with seeds.

TOFU DENGAKU

Steps:

• Bring 1 1/2 tablespoons sake just to boil in small saucepan. Remove from heat. Mix in white miso and 1 teaspoon sugar. Mix in yuzu and shiso, if desired. Set white miso sauce aside.
• Bring remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sake just to boil in another small saucepan. Remove from heat. Mix in red miso and remaining 6 teaspoons sugar. Set red miso sauce aside.
• Combine 4 cups water and dashi-kombu in medium saucepan. Bring just to simmer over high heat, then immediately remove broth from heat (to prevent dashi-kombu from becoming bitter). Add bonito; let stand until bonito settles at bottom of pan, about 20 minutes.
• Strain broth into large saucepan. Mix in soy sauce and mirin. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors. Set broth aside.
• Line large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Cut tofu into 2 x 1 x 1/2-inch rectangles. Add tofu rectangles to broth and simmer over medium-low heat 10 minutes to flavor tofu. Using slotted spoon, carefully remove tofu rectangles and place on prepared baking sheet. Cool tofu. DO AHEAD: Sauces and tofu can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
• Preheat broiler. Starting at 1 short end of tofu, insert skewer through center, extending to opposite short end. Repeat with remaining tofu and skewers. Brush half of tofu pieces (top only) with red miso mixture. Brush remaining tofu pieces (top only) with white miso mixture. Place sheet of foil over exposed portion of skewers to prevent burning. Broil tofu 6 to 8 inches from heat source until golden brown and charred in spots, watching closely, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove foil. Transfer skewers to platter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

TOFU DENGAKU

Steps:

• Gather ingredients.
• Grind toasted sesame seeds in Japanese mortar and pestle until smooth.
• Add sugar, miso, garlic, ginger, and grind for some more until ingredients are well incorporated. Scraping the side with a spatula or wooden spoon.
• Add mirin and half of soy sauce and mix well. Check for the thickness and gradually add the rest of the soy sauce until the sauce is thick but easy to spread. Note: make sure the sauce is not too runny, otherwise it will not stick to tofu. Add chili oil if using.
• Store in a clean jar. It will keep for a week in the fridge.
• In a sink or over a baking dish, press tofu between two cutting boards for 30 minutes to an hour. This is to drain any excess water from the tofu.
• Heat oil in a pot over medium heat until 300 degrees. The oil should be deeper than the thickness of tofu.
• Working one to two tofu at a time, pat dry tofu and gently deep fry until golden brown and crispy on the outside. Repeat until all the tofu has been fried. Drain them on a paper towel and now you have atsuage.
• Turn the broiler on to medium-high.
• Once the atsuage is cool enough to handle, slice each atsuage into halves, lengthwise. Skewer each tofu slice with bamboo skewers, facing the sliced side up.
• Spoon the miso sauce on top of each tofu.
• On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil, place skewered tofu. Broil the skewers until the top bubbles and browns a bit. Use a culinary torch to lightly brown the top if not using a broiler.
• Remove from the broiler and sprinkle with sansho pepper or black sesame seeds (optional).

DENGAKU

Steps:

• Take tofu wrap it in paper towel, place in microwave for 1 minute. This will help pull the water out of it. Remove paper towel, pat down tofu with paper towel then cut it into domino sized pieces. In a sauce pan heat oil then add tofu cook until it browns then turn it and cook again until that side browns. Remove Tofu, place on paper towel to drain excess oil. In same sauce pan heat up the Rice Wine mix in sugar until it dissolves. Mix in Miso paste, turn off range/stove top and keep mixing until well blended. If it's still lumpy, no worries. Once it's mixed turn on range again add tofu and cook on high for 1 minute or so. Plate the tofu, then drizzle sauce over it.

GRILLED TOFU ON A STICK (TOFU DENGAKU)

Steps:

• Put miso, mirin, sugar and dashi in a pan and cook, stirring constantly , over low heat until sugar dissolves. Add egg yolk and mix well until glossy. Remove from heat.
• Cut tofu into 8 blocks (small popsicle shapes). In a 12" frying pan, heat oil on medium high. Add tofu and sauté, turning carefully so the blocks don't break, until medium brown.
• Spread miso on one side of the tofu (a pastry brush will do the job.).
• Skewer each piece of tofu with a skewer or wooden stick about 3-1/2 inches long and strong enough to hold up the tofu. A double pronged stick works well.
• Arrange on a plate and serve.

GRILLED (BROILED) TOFU AND VEGETABLE DENGAKU

Steps:

• Remove the excess moisture from the tofu by wrapping it in a clean towel and placing it between 2 cutting boards, let stand for 30 minutes.
• Cut the tofu into slabs about a 1/2 inch thick and two inches long.
• Sweet Simmered Miso: White and Red.
• Now you will make two types of sweet simmered miso, each one using one color of miso, a bit of sake, mirin, and sugar as described below.
• Taste the miso sauce as you prepare it, miso flavors will differ from company to company so you may need to add additional ingredients to account for differences in product or your own preferences.
• Put white miso, 1/4 cup sake, 1/4 cup mirin, and 2 Tbs sugar in a small saucepan and stir over a medium flame until well blended.
• When the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat and continue stirring until smooth and thick (around 20 minutes).
• Let cool.
• Repeat with the red miso and the remaining sake, mirin, and sugar.
• If you have any extra sauce, the plain sweet simmered miso can be refrigerated for up to a month.
• Citrus White Miso Sauce.
• The white miso sauce can be varied by taking 3/4 cup of the sweet simmered white miso and adding the finely grated citrus peel.
• Spinach White Miso Sauce.
• A variation of the white miso sauce is to take 1/3 cup of the sweet simmered red miso and adding 1/3 cup of lightly steamed and coarsely chopped spinach leaves and mix until well incorporated.
• Grilling (Broiling) the tofu and vegetables.
• Grill or broil the tofu and vegetables until they are lightly browned and cooked through to your liking.
• For the tofu, it's very convenient to broil this in the oven until it is slightly browned.
• For the grill, just before taking the tofu and vegetables off to serve, brush with the simmered miso sauce of your choosing and continue grilling until the miso is just browned and bubbling.
• For the broiler method, just before taking the tofu and vegetables out from the broiler, brush on the miso sauce of your choice and continue broiling until the top is bubbly and just browned.