Agedashi-dofu (Japanese fried tofu)
By: Feral Cooks
Published: Wednesday, April 5, 2017 - 8:14am

Ingredients




For the tofu:
1 brick of tofu (use the firm version, because it’s more robust)
Potato or corn starch
Vegetable oil for either deep frying or pan frying
For the broth/dip:
2T soy sauce
2 T sake (optional)
2T mirin
1 cup water. If you have dashi (fish stock) at home, use a cup of that.
Pinch of sugar
For garnishes:
Sliced scallions
Bonito (fish) flakes, if you have them
Grated ginger

Preparation

1 Drain the tofu by putting paper towels above and below it, and put a heavy pan on it for 15 minutes to 2 hours. 2 Meanwhile, you can make your broth/dip by mixing and boiling the liquids and adding in the pinch of sugar. Just let it sit off the heat, when done. 3 Dry the tofu and cut into 8 equal-sized pieces. 4 Put the starch in a deep plate and roll/coat each tofu piece on all sides. 5 Deep or pan-fry the tofu in two batches, until it turns a golden color. 6 Drain on paper towel. 7 Put two or three pieces in a shallow bowl (for individual servings). Add broth/dip to the bowl and top with any/all of the toppings listed above. Try to do all this when the tofu is really hot.

About

Tofu can be bland, but the Japanese use deep-fried tofu as an appetizer, especially in bars (izakaya). It’s popular and really good. The secret is the corn-starch coating. More photos and info at feralcooks.com/agedashi-dofu-deep-fried-tofu/
Here’s the thing: this is so easy to make, and takes so few ingredients, that it’s surprising that more non-Japanese cooks and restaurants don’t serve it. It goes really well as an appetizer for many types of Asian foods.