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See how the vegetables garnished around the tofu steak add appetizing colors… white from the hamburger steak, black from the shiitake, red from the carrot, green from the snap peas, and yellow from the pumpkin (photo did not do the yellow color justice). For many centuries, ‘five colors’ have been essential components in ‘washoku’, the Japanese cooking. Five colors together in one dish is a distinctive rule in washoku. Eye-appeal is always taken very seriously. Being conscious of using these five colors also creates a nutritional balance. The colors also stimulate the appetite.
“Five” is a key number when it comes to washoku. There are many rules that emphasize ‘five’. What comes along with ‘five colors’ is ‘five’ tastes’… senses of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and also, umami from soy sauce. If a meal has five tastes, we can enjoy it to its fullest without getting bored with the taste. Also, pay attention to the five cooking methods: grilling, simmering, frying, steaming, and serving raw. By taking these five methods into account, pleasurable differences can be enjoyed in texture and temperature. Utilizing ‘five’ rules, a beautiful meal with various textures and flavors in nutritional balance can be created …. five tastes, five colors, and five cooking methods. That’s the key to successfully mastering Japanese cooking.
This is a healthy variation of the Japanese western-style standard, made with tofu and low-fat ground chicken instead of beef or pork. By steam-frying these hamburger steaks in a frying pan, they’ll come out nicely light and juicy. The sauce, puréed daikon radish and ponzu [1] gives them a deliciously light, clean flavor. For sides, using the ‘five color’ concept makes for a beautifully colorful spread, perfect for spring!
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Tofu & Chicken Hamburger Stake • 豆腐 と 鶏肉 の ハンバーグ ステーキ-
Recipe by: Fae’s Twist & Tango (fae-magazine.com), inspired by Chef T. Saito
INGREDIENTS
• 300 g/ 1 block firm or extra firm tofu
• 340 g/ 12 oz ground, lean chicken
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 120 g/ ½ medium onion, finely minced
• 3 Tbsp panko/Japanese bread crumbs
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 ~ 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 300 g/ 11 oz daikon radish
• 7 fl oz ponzu [1]
[1] How to make homemade ponzu for this recipe
• 3½ Tbsp dashi or water
• 3½ Tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp mirin (Takara honteri non-alcoholic mirin)
• 4 Tbsp soy sauce
DIRECTIONS
◊ To press the moisture out of the tofu, cut the tofu in half, laterally. Place the pieces flat on a cutting board lined with paper towel. Place another paper towel over them and place another cutting board on top. Place weight, such as a large bowl filled with water on the top cutting board. Set aside for 30 minutes. (Approximately ½ ~ ¾ cup of liquid is released.)
◊ In a bowl, add ground chicken, salt, pepper, and knead thoroughly. Crumble up the tofu in the bowl and continue kneading. Add panko and knead. Add beaten egg and knead. Then add minced onion and knead thoroughly.
◊ Divide the meat mixture into 6 parts. Between your palms, roll each segment tightly into a ball and then form into oblong patties. Make a small dent in the middle of each patty and place on a greased tray.
◊ Add oil to a large fry-pan (that has a lid) and preheat on medium. Add the patties. Fry them until the bottoms brown. Flip the patties, cover the fry-pan, and reduce heat to a tad lower than medium-low. Cook for 10 minutes until patties have cooked through.
◊ To make the daikon sauce: Purée the daikon radish, drain excess daikon liquid, and add ponzu. Pour over the hamburger steaks when serving.
◊ Sides served here to complete the 5 colors: Shiitake mushrooms briefly fried in butter, sugar snap peas blanched in salted boiling water and shocked, oblique cut (らんぎり/ran-giri) carrot glace, and kabocha squash peeled, cut, boiled, drained, mashed and seasoned.
~ 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.
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So, what’s cooking in your kitchen?
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I love the five-colored concept. I often try to have at least 3-4 colors on a plate; it looks more appetizing than one solid color. Now I’ll aim for five! Thank you for the introduction to the term washoku!
Yes, traditional Japanese cuisine is ‘washoku‘ (wa=Japanese, shoku=food/meal) and dishes influenced by foreign cuisine, but very Japanese flavoring is ‘yoshoku‘ (yo=foreign). I posted a yoshoku recipe next.
You would not believe what I cooked the day before yesterday: chicken tofu meatballs. I used slik tofu so am very interested to experiment with using firm tofu like you did. I spiced mine with some lemon zest, fennel seeds, chilli etc. Cooked them in a tomato sauce to go with pasta. Although they still need some tweaking to give them a little more flavour, I really enjoyed them. Must now try your version.
Your chicken-tofu-meatballs sound very yummy! Firmer tofu will probably work better for your recipe, easier to handle, I think. I’ll try your version too!
Delicious and healthy! The best combination ever! Well done, my dear Fae!
Your are so sweet, darling Francesca. I think, Her Majesty would love it too. 😀
I love how this dish is so thoughtful about colors and the visual aspect of food!
Yes, Japanese are so good about food arrangements, and making it pleasant for the eyes before pleasant to the palate.
Great flavors going on here Fae, and so light and refreshingly healthy!
Exactly, dear Loretta. The patty is really very flavorful.
This is such a great idea and thanks Fae for another great recipe
Thank you for all your support and the kind words, dear Linda.
Hey there! I nominated you for the Sisterhood of the World Blogger award, check it out on my blog
Congratulations Team J on your Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award! And, thank you very much for thinking of me and nominating me for the award. xx
YUMMY!
Mixing chicken with tofu sounds interesting! I’ll have to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Olga, The two ingredients really go well together. It is very easy to make, and cooks fast.
Great plating for this exquisite dish!
Colors really makes it beautiful.
Five times bravo Fae! Can we use this interesting number even to congrats on your recipe? It looks very yummy and, of course, very healthy!
Yes, lovely Margherita. Thank you for the 5 times praise. 😀 )))
this looks great!Light and delicious!My kind of food
We know chicken and tofu go well together, as patties or in curry. 😀 )))