Agedashi Tofu

A Japanese classic, available on the menu of many Japanese restaurants. If's often served as an appetizer, and when done well tastes so incredible. The trickiest part is to get the tofu exterior crispy -- getting the tofu as dry as possible before frying helps with this. Looks complicated but is surprisingly easy, using the same essential ingredients as pretty much every Japanese dish.

Active Time: 20 min

Total Time: 20 min


Ingredients

> soft tofu (1 block)
> potato starch
> neutral oil
> tsuyu: dashi (1/2 cup), soy sauce (1 tbsp), mirin (1 tbsp)
> garnish: green onion, bonito flakes, Japanese chili powder


Instructions

1. Drain and cut the tofu into 8 equally sized pieces. Dry as much as possible with a towel. Press down on the tofu with a heavy object if necessary.
2. Coat the tofu with potato starch, dust off any excess, and fry in medium-hot oil for ~3-5 minutes, or until they turn light brown and crispy. Remove the tofu and drain excess oil on a wire rack or plate lined with paper towels.
3. Prepare the sauce by mixing together dashi, soy sauce, and mirin. If using prepared Hondashi, you may need to heat up the mixture a little bit.
4. Place the sauce in the serving bowl, and place the tofu in. Garnish with green onion, bonito flakes, and Japanese chili pepper. Serve and enjoy immediately.


Notes/Tips:

> It is important to get the tofu as dry as you possibly can. Without doing so, the exterior of the tofu will be moist and won't develop that lovely crispy texture. Use a heavy object to press a towel into the tofu, if need.
> This dish is also traditionally served with grated daikon, which does add an important component to the dish, but is generally something that I don't have so I omitted it.
> Serve immediately -- otherwise the exterior of the tofu will get soggy. If not serving immediately, keep the tofu and sauce mixture separate until ready to serve.
> You can use soft or firm tofu -- soft tofu has a nicer texture but firm tofu is easier to work with without breaking.