Yudofu

Some time ago I went to my nearest Uniqlo, a decent 10-minute walk from my sharehouse. I'm not gonna lie; I've got brand loyalty for their clothes, and it's hard not to love their quirky anime and nothing-but-chairs tees and plaid shirts. I found a one-piece dress that I particularly liked, but a moment later in the fitting room where I realized that even with my size the dress showed a significant amount of stomach, I was soon sulking out of the store in utter disappointment.

Stepping out, I grew annoyed of my situation. I was stupid pudgy and I hated it. So I decided that moment that I need to start going on a diet if I'm ever going to find myself fitting anything other than tees and shorts/pants ever again.

Sometime later after writing a short essay in class about how I wanted to go on a diet and getting fairly decent marks out of it, I approached one of my teachers from my last term, whom I liked to share food and travel photos to. I told her of my diet and asked her what Japanese food she recommended for me to have. She told me about yudofu (湯豆腐), a popular dish in Kyoto, and after kindly requesting her, she was more than willing to teach me how to make this simple recipe.

Yudofu is derived from oyu (お湯), which means hot water, and tofu (豆腐). As its name suggests, yudofu is simply silk tofu cooked in hot water. It's not just any water though; it's water infused with kombu (昆布), or kelp. Afterwards, the tofu is eaten with veggies, bonito flakes or katsuobushi (鰹節), along with other condiments like grated radish and ponzu (ポン酢).

Whether you're starting a vegan diet, a tofu lover, or just wanting to live better in general, this is a dish worth making if your ingredients are within reach.



Ingredients:

• 2 whole blocks silk tofu/kinudofu (絹豆腐)
• 1 piece kelp
• 400 g water
• bonito flakes as needed
• 1 stalk leek or 5 stalks spring onion
• Japanese parsley leaves as needed (optional)
• 10 g grated radish (optional)
• 1 piece carrot (optional)

Here's an optional and basic ponzu recipe for those who can't buy any at their local stores, or who prefer making theirs f r e s h.

Ponzu:

• 100 g soy sauce
• 40 g lemon juice
• 25 g sake
• 25 g mirin
• 1/2 cup bonito flakes (optional)
• 1/3 piece kelp (optional)

1. Start by making your ponzu, if you don't have any store-bought ones. Mix in all your ponzu ingredients together and strain. If you are using the kelp and bonito flakes, let them sit for 2 hours or more in your mixture before straining.
2. In a pot/your rice cooker, pour in your water. Set your stove at a high heat (200°C); for those with rice cookers, set them to hayadaki (早炊き). Let the water boil.
3. When the water boils, lower your temperature to a simmer (160-170°C). For rice cookers, set them to nikomi (煮込み). Add your kelp and let it simmer for about 15 minutes minimum.
4. Slice your tofu into equal sizes and add it into the hot water. Leave it in there for around 10 minutes.
5. Make some thin slices of your leek/spring onions. If you're using a carrot, do the same with it as well. Pluck out some leaves off your parsley for plating, if you're also using that.
6. Plate your tofu accordingly and serve with ponzu.

First the kelp...

...Then the tofu.

Simple as it gets. I love it when everything is simple!

If you're wondering why the tofu barely tastes like anything other than the slight hint of kelp, it's perfectly normal. Tofu doesn't taste like anything, and that's what the ponzu and veggies are for. Feel free to double your serving of bonito flakes.

You might also be wondering why we are being specific with the kind of tofu we're using. There are two kinds of tofu: kinudofu (絹豆腐) and momendofu (木綿豆腐), which are silk and cotton tofu respectively. Neither have anything to do with silk nor cotton, but the terms are used to describe how soft or hard the tofu is. More importantly, we use the silk tofu here because the cotton one isn't really ideal for this dish, as you can taste that creamy tofu goodness when it slides in your mouth.

As for the ponzu, it should last a good few weeks if stored properly. Cool, dry places, my friends. Store in a glass jar if it's available to you, or a glass bottle. I'd prefer the bottle personally.

So you might be thinking, "Zip, what can I possibly do with all this liquid left over from boiling the tofu?" Well you can reuse it again to boil simmer more tofu, make dashi out of it by adding bonito flakes and essentially turn it into nabe/sukiyaki if you added more veggies and beef into it, or—as what my teacher said—add some soy sauce into it and drink it. I'm not so keen on the last one myself.

And that's all there is to it. Hope this makes tofu at least a little more interesting to eat!