Japanese tofu steak

About Japanese tofu steak

Japanese tofu steak is a firm tofu fried in a frying pan and seasoned with a sweet and salty sauce. Every supermarket these days sells tofu. However, it is much firmer than Japanese tofu, so you cannot use it in every Japanese dish. But its hardness makes it suitable for tofu steak.  As it is firm, you can fry it without crumbling.

Tofu is inexpensive and healthy, so it’s a convenient dish to remember.  Basically, it’s easy to make because you just sprinkle flour on drained tofu, fry it in a frying pan, and entwin it with sauce. If you don’t want to make the sauce, it’s also delicious to drizzle some soy sauce over the freshly fried tofu and garnish it with green onions, grated ginger, or wasabi.  If you go shopping and find tofu, try making it once.

Below, I put a link about the nutrition, health benefits and downsides of tofu, so please read it if you like.

Recipe tips

For tofu steak, use regular tofu instead of silken tofu. Drain the tofu before using it.

Preparing the tofu to remove the water content has the effect of preventing the tofu from crumbling.  There are many ways to drain the water. The simplest method is to put it on a paper towel to absorb the moisture.

When the tofu is coated with flour and fried, a film forms on the surface, giving it a firm brown color and making it fragrant and delicious.  And it becomes easy to get entangled in the sauce.  I usually use cornstarch for the dusting, but if you don’t have it, you can use potato starch or wheat flour.

Adding mayonnaise to the sauce adds richness. I also add Doubanjiang (chili bean paste) or sambal (chili sauce / paste) to the sauce, but if you don’t like spicy food, you can omit it. You can also add grated ginger and garlic to taste.

Print Recipe

Japanese tofu steak

Japanese tofu steak is a firm tofu fried in a frying pan and seasoned with a sweet and salty sauce. It is easy to make and healty.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Course: Tofu dish

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: Japanese recipe, Tofu, Tofu steak

Servings: 3 people

Author: okawarishitene staff

Equipment

• 1 Frying pan

Ingredients

• 1 block Firm tofu (about 500gram)
• An appropriate amount of Cornstarch (or potato starch or wheat flour)
• 2 tablespoon Vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoon Fine granulated sugar or caster sugar
• 3 tablespoon Japanese soy sauce
• 3 tablespoon Mirin
• 3 tablespoon Japanese sake or Chinese rice wine
• 1/2 teaspoon Doubanjiang or sambal
• 1½~2 tablespoon Normal mayonnaise (don't use low calorie mayo)
• 2 tablespoon Finely chopped green onion

Instructions

• Cut the tofu into large bite-size pieces, and chop green onion finely.
  
• Place the tofu on two layers paper towels and drain. After about 15 minutes, the paper towel will be completely wet, so turn it over on a new paper towel and let it sit for another 15 minutes.
  
• Mix the sauce ingredients (sugar, soy sauce, mirin, sake, doubanjiang, mayonnaise) in a small bowl. It's okay if the mayonnaise doesn't mix well.
  
• Heat a frying pan and add oil.  Wipe off any excess moisture on the tofu with paper towel.  Coat the tofu with cornstarch and place in the frying pan.
  
• Fry all sides well over medium high heat until golden brown. The surface should be crispy. Remove the tofu from the frying pan and transfer to a plate. 
  
• Put the sauce ingredients in a frying pan and bring to a boil, and simmer until slightly thickened. Then put the tofu back in and mix it with the sauce. Cook for 2-3 minutes, turning the tofu occasionally. (The mayonnaise should melt during this process.) 
  
• Place the tofu on a plate and sprinkle it with the green onions.

Notes

If you don’t like spicy food, you can omit doubanjiang. You can also add grated ginger or / and garlic to taste, if you like.

 

It’s easy to make and tasty, so please try making it.  I will also put a link to another tofu recipe, so please try to make it if you like.

Thank you for reading and Bon Appetit!