Tofu On Stilts Dengaku Recipes

TOFU DENGAKU (TOFU WITH MISO GLAZE)

Steps:

• Turn the oven to broil.
• Wrap tofu in paper towel and leave until paper towel has soaked through. Repeat a couple of times to remove excess water.
• Slice tofu in half in thickness and in 4 slices lengthwise.
• In a mixing bowl add red and white miso, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, sake, dashi and grated ginger and mix well.
• In a pan over high heat, add tofu slices and fry each side for about 2 minutes, until they are golden brown.
• Transfer the tofu onto a sheet tray and brush a good amount of mixed sauce on top of each slice.
• Broil for 3 1/2 to 4 minutes, until dark brown.
• Transfer to a plate and top with sesame seed and scallions. Serve.

MISO-GLAZED TOFU ON STILTS (DENGAKU)

Steps:

• Rinse the tofu and press for 1 hour. (To press the tofu, place it on a gently sloping cutting board in the sink. Place a heavy plate on top of it and let stand for 1 hour. The weight of the plate will press out the excess liquid and firm up the tofu.).
• Prepare the miso glaze. Combine the miso, mirin, sake, sugar, and mayonnaise in the top of a double boiler and whisk until smooth. Cook the sauce over the double boiler until thick and creamy, about 3 minutes.
• Cut each block of tofu through the short side to obtain 2 broad thin rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half widthwise. Stick two skewers through the narrow end of each piece of tofu. Preheat the grill to high.
• Grill the tofu on each side until lightly browned, turning once, 3 to 4 minutes per side, brushing with miso glaze. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve immediately.

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.

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.

TOFU ON STILTS / DENGAKU

Steps:

• 1. Rinse the tofu under cold running water and drain. Place a cutting board on a slight incline in the sink. Place the tofu on the cutting board and put a heavy plate or pot lid on top of it to press out the excess liquid. This will take about 30 minutes.2. If desired, set up the grill for grateless grilling. Preheat the grill to high.3. Combine the miso, mirin, sake, sugar, and mayonnaise in the top of a double boiler and whisk until smooth. Cook the sauce over gently simmering water until thick and creamy, about 3 minutes.4. Cut each piece of tofu horizontally in half, then cut each of the resultant pieces in half crosswise. Push 2 skewers through each piece of tofu, starting at one narrow end.5. When ready to cook, arrange the tofu on the grill as described in the grateless method or oil the grill grate and arrange the tofu directly on it. Grill, turning with a spatula, until lightly browned on each side, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Brush with miso glaze as the tofu cooks. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve immediately.Serves 4