• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Umami Days

Umami Days

Meaty with a dash of veggies

  • Pick a meal
    • One Bowl Meals
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch / Dinner
      • Appetizers
      • Salads
      • Soups
      • Main Courses
      • Side Dishes
      • Sweets
    • Snacks
    • Drinks
      • Summer drinks
      • Cold weather drinks
      • Cocktail hour
  • Pick your protein
    • Chicken, duck & turkey
    • Meat
    • Seafood
    • Eggs
    • Mushrooms
    • Tofu
    • Vegetables
  • Pick your carb
    • Rice & grains
    • Noodles
    • Bread
  • Newsletter
  • Sidebar
    • Kitchen
    • Dining
    • Edible Garden
    • Food Tales
  • Newsletter sign-up!
  • Recipe index
    • By Meal
      • One Bowl Meals
      • Breakfast
      • Lunch / Dinner
        • Appetizers
        • Salads
        • Soups
        • Main Courses
        • Side Dishes
        • Sweets
      • Snacks
      • Drinks
        • Refreshing summer drinks
        • Cold weather drinks
        • Cocktail hour
    • By Main Protein
      • Chicken, duck & turkey
      • Meat
      • Seafood
      • Eggs
      • Mushrooms
      • Tofu
      • Vegetables
    • By Carb
      • Rice & grains
      • Noodles
      • Bread
  • Sidebar
    • Kitchen
    • Dining
    • Edible Garden
    • Food Tales
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Contact
Tofu Appetizers Lunch / Dinner Side Dishes Snacks

Agedashi tofu

Published: 05.14.2012 » Last updated: 07.02.2022

Age means deep fried and dashi, of course, is the stock made from bonito flakes and kelp. Hence, agedashi tofu. For me, it’s the queen of tofu dishes. Squares of fried delicate soft tofu served with a light salty-sweet sauce.

Agedashi tofu

Two characteristics make this dish stand out. First, the contrasting textures of the fried tofu — soft inside but crisp outside because of the coating.

Second, the sauce in which the tofu is served. Most restaurants serve the sauce on the side as a dipping sauce. I think it’s better to let the tofu sit in the sauce. By itself, the fried tofu is bland but give it a chance to absorb the sauce and it becomes perfectly seasoned.

Okay, so how do we give tofu a great texture and how do we make a tasty sauce in which to let them sit?

Pressing tofu to remove excess moisture

First, remove as much water from the tofu as you possibly can. To do this, line a bowl with a stack of paper towels, drop in the tofu, cover with another stack of paper towels and weigh down with a plate or bowl. The process will take several minutes and you can use that time to make the sauce.

Cooking sauce for agedashi tofu

Pour dashi, soy sauce and mirin into a pot. Sake can be used in place of mirin. But because sake is not as sweet as mirin, you’ll have to add about a teaspoon of sugar to get a good balance of flavors.

Adding ginger to agedashi tofu sauce

Add ginger to the soy sauce, mirin and dashi mixture, and boil uncovered to reduce. How long the mixture should be boiled depends on how concentrated you want the flavor. Taste occasionally as the sauce boils and turn off the heat once you get the balance that you prefer.

Dredging tofu cubes in starch

By the time the sauce is done, the tofu should be dry on the surface. Cut it into cubes and dredge in starch. Remember, it’s starch, not wheat-based flour. The only acceptable flour that can be substituted is rice flour.

Frying tofu cubes

Deep fry the tofu cubes until the surface is crisp. Do this in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan. Overcrowding will make the temperature of the oil drop and you’ll get soggy tofu instead of crispy ones.

With the sauce done and the tofu fried, all you need to do is assemble the dish. Serve the tofu and sauce separately, if you wish, or place the tofu in a shallow bowl or deep plate and drizzle the sauce over them. Sliced scallions and bonito flakes are the traditional garnishes.

Full recipe below

Agedashi tofu

Connie Veneracion
Is agedashi tofu an easy recipe or is it for seasoned cooks only? Let’s just say that it doesn’t take a miracle to successfully fry soft tofu. The key is in finding the right kind of tofu and learning how to handle it. For me, the ideal tofu for this dish is kinugoshi or “cotton” tofu which is firmer than silken tofu but softer than firm tofu.
Agedashi tofu
Print
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 25 mins
Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cake kinugoshi or “cotton” tofu - about 300 grams
  • 1 cup dashi
  • 2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons mirin
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • ½ cup potato starch - or corn starch
  • 2 to 4 cups cooking oil - for frying
  • sliced scallions - to garnish
  • bonito flakes - to garnish

Instructions
 

Prepare the tofu

  • Place the tofu between two stacks of paper towels.
  • Place a bowl on top and leave to allow the paper towels to absorb excess moisture.

Make the sauce

  • Pour the dashi, soy sauce and mirin into a small pot.
  • Stir in the grated ginger.
  • Boil the sauce for about five minutes to reduce and heighten the flavors then set aside to cool.

Fry the tofu

  • Cut the tofu into cubes.
  • Place the starch in a shallow bowl and gently roll each tofu cube to completely coat the outside. Shake off any excess.
  • Pour enough cooking oil into a wok or frying pan to reach a depth of at least three inches. Heat until wisps of smoke float on the surface.
  • Fry the tofu, in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, just until the coating turns crisp, about two to three minutes per batch.

Serve the agedashi tofu

  • Arrange the cooked tofu in a shallow bowl.
  • Drizzle the sauce over and around the fried tofu.
  • Garnish with bonito flakes and sliced scallions.
Print
Keyword Tofu

More recipes, cooking tips & food tales

General Tso's tofu

General Tso’s tofu

Ma po tofu

Miso soup

Miso soup

Tuna and tofu spring rolls with sweet chili sauce

Tuna and tofu spring rolls

Tofu and bok choy stir fry

Tofu and bok choy stir fry

Oden

Oden

Sidebar

Connie Veneracion, Chiang Mai, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Welcome to Umami Days, a blog that advocates innovative home cooking for pleasurable everyday dining. No trendy diets, no food fads and definitely no ludicrous recipe names like crustless quiche, noodleless pho or chocolate lasagna.

  • About
  • Recipes
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Contact

Umami Days is powered by Apple, Canon, coffee & one bowl meals · Copyright © 2023 Connie Veneracion · All Rights Reserved