Tofu Salad Miso Dressing豆腐サラダ味噌ドレッシングがけ

日本語のレシピは　ビーガン、ベジタリアン情報満載の　Hachidory から　ご覧下さい。

It seems that the summer is not ready to pass the baton to the autumn yet.

That’s fine.

Then the autumn also might want to pass it to the winter later than usual, which is perfect for me !

I still crave for the watermelons this year !

The watermelon sherbet

 

What else do you think I crave for other than that ?

It is something white.

It is something soft and fragile.

It is something traditional for Japanese people.

It is rich in protein and easily available everywhere in Japan.

It is often loved by vegans all around the world.

I think you know what it is by now.

It is “Hiyayakko” !

Not tofu?

Yes, it is tofu, Hiyayakko is the chilled soft tofu.

It is perhaps the most popular way of eating tofu during summer in Japan.

It is super simple to prepare.

Open the package after taking out from the fridge, transfer it into the bowl, top up with the chopped green onion and grated ginger, pour the soy sauce, and just eat it !

So easy, right ?

However You wouldn’t love “Hiyayakko” without finding the fresh and good quality of tofu.

Therefore before introducing today’s tofu recipe, let me talk about tofu and also give some tips how to select the good tofu when you have selections at the grocery shops.

It is going to be a long talk, so if you do not want to spend time reading it, just scroll down to the picture of the yummy tofu salad.

You may be thinking that tofu is bland or tasteless, so need to cook with the seasonings such as spices, barbeque sauce and heavy gravies. 

However when tofu is made from the good ingredients in a proper way, you might feel that it is such a waste to cook it or coat it with those strong seasonings.   

Sadly many tofu sold in the supermarkets nowadays do not meet my standard.  I can seldom enjoy “Hiyayakko” with those.   They are a kind of tasteless like you think of tofu.  

But don’t be disappointed. 

Among so many tofu displayed on the shelf in the supermarkets in Japan, there are usually a few tasty ones which are made with the good quality of ingredients without unnecessary additives.

In order to find the satisfactory ones, you need to be able to read the labels first of all.

(We should make it a habit to read the label whenever we buy the products in this modern society.  Don’t be deceived by the catchy words like “Healthy”, “No Additives”, “Organic”, “Vegan”.)

There are three points that you’d better check.

Defoamer

Lots of foams and bubbles surface in the pot while the soymilk is cooked during tofu making process.   Those need to be removed.

In order to skip this process, using defoamer became a common practice as it can reduce the labor. 

The defoamer can also increase the volume of tofu.
The description of the defoamer usage is not necessary in Japan, therefore if you do not see the word “消泡剤不使用/Defoamer-free”, the defoamer is most probably used.  

Some tofu makers describe the names of the defoamer decently on the label.  They are usually described as “シリコン樹脂/Silicon resin” or “グリセリン脂肪酸エステル/Glycerin fatty acid ester”.

Coagulant

This processing aid is necessary unlike the defoamer explained above.

There are mainly four types of coagulants. 

They are

にがり・塩化マグネシウム / Nigari=Magnesium Chloride

塩化カルシウム/ Calcium Chloride

硫酸カルシウム / Calcium Solphate

グルコノデルタラクトン/ Gluconic Acid

It is said that each of them has different effects on tofu.

One of the reasons that tofu texture and taste differ among different brands of tofu can be attributed to the coagulant used.

I personally have not used the coagulants other than Nigari, the magnesium chloride as other three are not easily available in Japanese market.

However I recommend Nigari, which is obtained during the salt making process thus is considered the most natural coagulant. 

The other three are normally chemically synthesized.

Get the liquid type of Nigari rather than flakes if it is available. 

Soybeans

There are various kinds of soybeans.

Talking about the soybeans in Japan, the taste and the nutrients differ depending on the species of soybeans and also the regions where they are grown.  

However it is not easy to know them as those specific seeds and regions are seldom described on the labels. 

But you can know whether it is made from the soybeans of Japan or not as the makers always boast it on the package if their tofu is made from Japanese soybeans.

Though each soybeans are different, Japanese soybeans are generally tastier than the ones from the other countries as long as I know.   And the protein content is higher.  

There is also no worries of postharvest of chemicals.*

Therefore what you can do is to find the tofu from 100% Japanese soybeans within the criteria mentioned earlier.

And you can try several kinds among them to find the tofu of your favorite taste.  

Description of my most favorite tofu 

 

I’ve been trying to make tofu from various kinds of soybeans, however I have never made tofu as tasty as the one from the tofu factory which I am patronizing.

My hand made tofu

I asked the owner which soybeans they are using.

He told me that they combine 3 kinds of soybeans from the different regions taking each of their characteristics into consideration, and that they also went through the countless experiments.

*The postharvest treatment is normally performed prior to and after the exporting and importing process for the agricultural products.  

The typical ones performed on are wheat, soybeans, corns, citrus fruits, banana, feeds to the agricultural animals.

The residual rates of those chemicals such as fungicide, pesticide and bactericide are much higher than the same ones of pre-harvest, and some are studied as carcinogenic.

Therefore you’d better avoid taking those foods from overseas as much as possible.

 

You might be a bit confused seeing unfamiliar terms.

Just remember tofu is the processed food after all, though, it is a protein rich healthy food as it is often said.

It is important to try to know what are used and how those ingredients are produced or raised, and who are involved and what are happening behind the products when you eat something, especially the processed food or imported food or animals, which you have not seen how they are grown nor produced. 

I am offering two kinds of tofu classes using the platform of Airbnb Experience.

One is titled “Magical Soy and Japanese Vegan”, and in this experience, I teach the cooking of tofu dishes.  It is the online class, so you can participate from wherever you are. https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/1879245

 

Another is titled “Tofu Making and Japanese Vegan Meal” and this is in person class.  You can learn how to make tofu personally from me, and enjoy the lunch of tofu dishes that I prepare for you.   If you have chance to visit Japan, join me in this experience!  https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/317862

Let’s go to the recipe of this month !

It is Hiyayakko with the seasonal vegetable on top, in the other word, “Tofu Salad with Miso Dressing “ .

 

 

Tofu Salad with Miso Dressing 

豆腐サラダ味噌ドレッシングがけ

 

Ingredients  

Dressing

30g Miso of your choice

30g water

30g vinegar of your choice

1 Tbsp toasted and mashed sesame seeds or sesame paste

5g~10g grated ginger

30g odorless cold pressed virgin oil

1g~2g Kombu / sea kelp (optional)

 

Salad

Tofu of your choice

Seasonal vegetables of your choice

In this recipe, I am using Hijiki sea vegetable, sweet corns, Edamame /green soybeans, carrot, cucumber, tomatoes

 

Topping

1 Tbsp nuts or seeds or both of your choice

Procedure 

Dressing

1.    Combine miso, water, grinded sesame seeds/sesame paste, grated ginger, and mix well.

2.    Add oil little by little, and mix with the whisk to unify.

3.   Transfer to the jar, add kombu, and keep in the fridge for minimum of one day so that the flavor from the kombu is released to the dressing.

*If you have a blender, you can throw in all the ingredients except kombu and blend at one go.

*Leave kombu in a jar until the dressing used up.  

You can chop and eat with the salad at the end.

 

The color and the taste differ depending on the miso used

Tofu Salad

1.    Cook tofu in the salt water for a few minutes.  

2.    Wrap with the tea towel or kitchen paper, and keep in the fridge for a few hours.

  

＊Normally Japanese people do not do this procedure.

But it is recommended to do this when you are not certain if it is fresh or not even though it is still within an expiry date, especially when you are using long life type tofu.    

I do this procedure though the tofu I use is fresh and made without using additives other than nigari coagulant, because of the reasons below.    

1）It prevents the excess water from coming down on the plate when this salad is served.

2）Tofu turns creamier.（The result could be different depending on brands of tofu. ）　

3）The life of tofu can be prolonged.

3.    Prepare vegetables. 

Hijiki：Rehydrate by soaking in the water for 20~30 min, cook for five minutes in boiling water, and then drain.

Edamame / Green soybeans：Cook in boiling water, dehull and remove thin layer skin from each beans.   

Sweet Corns：　Steam or cook in boiling water, take the kernels off the core, and separate each kernel.

Carrot：Steam or cook in boiling water, and cut into the size of  green soybeans.

Tomato：Cut into the size of green soybeans　

Myoga：Slice thin, soak in cold water for five min. and then drain. 

 Vegetables ready for salad

4.    Place the chilled tofu on the plate, and  top up with the vegetables prepared.　

5.    Pour the dressing over the vegetables.

6.    Sprinkle the grinded seeds or nuts just before eating.

＊The tiny seeds need to be grinded for digestion and absorption, but the bigger seeds and the nuts need not to be grinded beforehand as long as you can do so with your teeth.

Happy Cooking！

タグ：tofu salad TOFU vegetables MISO Dressing defoamer coagulant soybeans Japanese tofu macrobiotics Vegan whole food plant based Japanesecooking Japanese Vegan Cooking Class Hachidory 冷ややっこ 豆腐サラダ 味噌ドレッシング 豆腐作り 消泡剤 凝固剤 にがり 大豆の種類