Shojin-ryori – – – Photo sourse: Wikipedia
For over a thousand years, especially after the introduction of Buddhism in Japan, due to the general Buddhist precept of ahimsa (Sanskrit, to do no harm), it was illegal to eat animal meat in Japan. With this in mind, Japanese created tasty vegetarian dishes. Shōjin ryōri 精進料理 / ’devotion cuisine’ or ‘temple food’ is probably the healthiest food there is. Konbu / kelp and mushroom dashi stocks are used for this style of cuisine. To have a balanced meal with protein, tofu is an essential ingredient. The simplest tofu dish is yudofu / hot-tofu. This dish can be as simple as boiled tofu or you may add vegetables such as Napa cabbage, daikon / radish, leek or aromatic green herbs/leaves such as mitsuba, as shown below.
Photo sourse: Wikipedia
Hot-Tofu • Yudofu • 湯豆腐
Recipe by: Fae’s Twist & Tango (fae-magazine.com)
When making large quantities of yudofu, a donabe/clay pot is used to retain heat while dining (above photo). It may also be cooked in a pot, especially small amounts.
INGREDIENTS
Featured Ingredients
• 5 cm/ 2″ square dashi konbu/dried kelp
• 200g/ 7 oz/ ½ package regular tofu cut in 4 or 6 pieces
Sauce
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce – low sodium
• 2 Tbsp mirin (Mizkan honteri non-alcoholic mirin)
• 1 Tbsp dashi or water (dashi can be taken from dashi made in the saucepan**)
• 2 Tbsp bonito-flakes (optional)
A — In small saucepan, mix top 4 ingredients and warm (or microwave warm in a bowl)
or
B — In small saucepan, mix all ingredients and simmer. Don’t boil. Stir and allow to sit for 2 minutes. Strain out flakes. (This stage of bonito flakes is called okaka, usually eaten with rice, such as rice-balls)
Toppings
• ¼ cup puréed daikon (pulps spooned/strained out of liquid)
• 1 Tbsp grated ginger
• 1 stem spring onion, ultra-thinly sliced
• 1 small packet of katsuobushi/bonito-flakes (this will be pescetarian not vegan)
DIRECTIONS
◊ If kelp has too much whitish powder on it, do not wash and briefly wipe off excess powder with dry paper towel.
◊ **Fill small~medium saucepan half-way with water and add kelp. Put on low-heat and warm water for 15~20 minutes.
◊ Increase heat and bring water to a boil. Add tofu pieces (and vegetables, if desired). Cook on medium heat until tofu is well-heated and vegetables are wilted. Serve warm.
How to eat
Scoop pieces of well-heated tofu into a small deep dish, top with topping-of-choice (or all) and pour 2 Tbsp sauce over toppings.
~ どうぞめしあがれ • Douzo Meshiagare! ~
The best way to make grated daikon (oroshi daikon) is to grate in circular motion to avoid fibers breaking apart.
Konbu
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So, what’s cooking in your kitchen?
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Thank you, dear Fae for this bit of historical information. I didn’t know that at all!,A lovely dish too! MMMMMM
Thank you Sophie. For you who practice vegetarian/vegan some days of the week, this dish is so satisfying with vegetables of your choice. It is best with just a plain ponzu!
Our family’s favourite cuisines include Persian and Japanese! How amazing that your cooking blog contains our favourite dishes and more Fae! I can feel the good nourishment from the Hot Tofu. Learning so much every time I visit. Much love, Sharon
I love yudofu! Yours looks delicious– you have just the right nabe pot for it. Kyoto has the best yudofu… this makes me want to go back.
That’s why I love Japanese food! It’s such an art of life!
Love your new theme…
This sounds really great! Thanks!
Fae, this is great. Looks like a combination of some clean flavours. I need to spend some ‘proper ‘ time in the Japanese section of your blog. I regularly make my own sushi and the rest of that family. But nothing near this level. Will the miso soup be a good start to learn?
Yes, I think so. Follow the order of Japanese food I am posting, and you will learn all the basic foods, and a complete meal set.
I love you adventureness Fae in making different cultural recipes!!
Inspiring presentation! I am always at a loss how to incorporate tofu into my diet and love the wabisabi way (love these nuggets of cultural info you pass on) of doing so. Thank you for doing these posts!
ciao! lovely presentation and just delicious
thebestdressup
Wow! I was totally unaware of the prohibition of meat in Japan at that time. Great recipe, too.
Apparently people in the mountains did eat games they found, but made sure to hide the traces/evidence as the punishment was very severe. Starting Meiji Restoration in 1867, meats were eaten publicly.
Beautiful the photo’s and the food. I love the simplicity and although I eat meat the principle behind this is excellent. I really don’t eat that much meat and love Japanese food.
Japanese are big in ‘simplicity’ (called wabisabi)… there is something about Japanese food that give you satisfaction, including visually.
Beautiful Fae! And how yummy it all looks!!
We have a local sake bar which serves a wide variety of bite sized morsels, tofu appears in many guises. All of them are delicious. Thanks for sharing these recipes Fae.
Those drinking restaurants are called i.za.ka.ya. I don’t drink, but I love to go to izakaya for the exact reason. 😛