Tofu Dengaku Food

NASU DENGAKU - MISO GLAZED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Slice eggplant in half and using a knife, score the inside in small squares.
• In a pan over high heat, add oil and put the eggplant skin facing down.
• Cook for a few minute until skin is brown. Turn the eggplant over and cover with a lid. Cook until eggplant is cooked through (about 3 to 4 minutes).
• Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix miso, mirin, sugar and sake.
• Cover a cooking tray with foil and place the eggplant on top. Brush miso dengaku mix on top of each eggplant until all the surface is coated.
• Put in the oven and broil for 4 minutes. The miso mix should be bubbling when you take it out of the oven.
• Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and serve hot.

TOFU DENGAKU (TOFU WITH MISO GLAZE)

Steps:

• Turn the oven to broil.
• Wrap tofu in paper towel and leave until paper towel has soaked through. Repeat a couple of times to remove excess water.
• Slice tofu in half in thickness and in 4 slices lengthwise.
• In a mixing bowl add red and white miso, soy sauce, mirin, sugar, sake, dashi and grated ginger and mix well.
• In a pan over high heat, add tofu slices and fry each side for about 2 minutes, until they are golden brown.
• Transfer the tofu onto a sheet tray and brush a good amount of mixed sauce on top of each slice.
• Broil for 3 1/2 to 4 minutes, until dark brown.
• Transfer to a plate and top with sesame seed and scallions. Serve.

MISO GLAZED EGGPLANT (NASU DENGAKU)

Steps:

• Add miso and egg yolk in a small saucepan and mix well using a spatula.
• Add the remaining Dengaku Miso ingredients of your choice and mix well.
• Place the saucepan over medium heat and constantly mix the miso sauce using a spatula.
• When the edge of the miso sauce starts bubbling, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and continue to cook and mix for about 2 minutes until the sauce thickens to the consistency of mayonnaise.
• Turn the heat off and transfer to a bowl or an air tight container. When slightly cooled down, cover with cling wrap/lid and store until required.
• The amount of one type of dengaku miso can serve 8-10 pieces of eggplant (note 4).
• Remove the stem end of the eggplant.
• If you are using one large eggplant, cut it crosswise into 2cm wide discs. There should be about 6 discs. Do not use the round end of the eggplant. If using two small eggplants, cut each of them vertically into half.
• While working on each piece of eggplant, keep the rest in a bowl filled with water. This will prevent the flesh of the eggplant from getting brownish.
• Score the eggplant flesh at 1cm intervals as far as you can without cutting through to the other side. Then score again perpendicular to the first cuts (if discs) or to make diamonds (if vertically cut eggplants).
• Run a knife around the eggplant shape, just inside of skin.
• Add the eggplant pieces and the oil in a bowl and thoroughly coat them with the oil.
• Heat a non-stick frypan over medium heat. Hold the eggplant pieces in a bowl and drain the oil into the frypan if any oil is accumulated at the bottom of the bowl.
• Place the eggplant pieces in the pan, scored side down and cook for 2 minutes.
• Turn them over and cook further 2 minutes. The eggplant flesh should become quite soft but if the thick part of the eggplant is not soft yet, place a lid on and cook further 30 seconds to 1 minute.
• Turn eggplant pieces over and transfer them onto a serving plate.
• Drop ⅓ or ½ tablespoon (note 4) of dengaku miso on each piece of eggplant and spread the miso over the entire surface of the eggplant.
• For dark miso, sprinkle white sesame seeds over the top (if using). Grate lime rind (or sprinkle dried seaweed flakes) over white miso.
• Serve while warm.

TOFU DENGAKU

Steps:

• Bring 1 1/2 tablespoons sake just to boil in small saucepan. Remove from heat. Mix in white miso and 1 teaspoon sugar. Mix in yuzu and shiso, if desired. Set white miso sauce aside.
• Bring remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sake just to boil in another small saucepan. Remove from heat. Mix in red miso and remaining 6 teaspoons sugar. Set red miso sauce aside.
• Combine 4 cups water and dashi-kombu in medium saucepan. Bring just to simmer over high heat, then immediately remove broth from heat (to prevent dashi-kombu from becoming bitter). Add bonito; let stand until bonito settles at bottom of pan, about 20 minutes.
• Strain broth into large saucepan. Mix in soy sauce and mirin. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors. Set broth aside.
• Line large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Cut tofu into 2 x 1 x 1/2-inch rectangles. Add tofu rectangles to broth and simmer over medium-low heat 10 minutes to flavor tofu. Using slotted spoon, carefully remove tofu rectangles and place on prepared baking sheet. Cool tofu. DO AHEAD: Sauces and tofu can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
• Preheat broiler. Starting at 1 short end of tofu, insert skewer through center, extending to opposite short end. Repeat with remaining tofu and skewers. Brush half of tofu pieces (top only) with red miso mixture. Brush remaining tofu pieces (top only) with white miso mixture. Place sheet of foil over exposed portion of skewers to prevent burning. Broil tofu 6 to 8 inches from heat source until golden brown and charred in spots, watching closely, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove foil. Transfer skewers to platter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

BROILED TOFU WITH MISO (TOFU DENGAKU)

Steps:

• Pat tofu dry with paper towels, then wrap in fresh paper towels and put in a microwave-safe dish (see cooks' note, below). Microwave at high power 30 seconds. Pour off any liquid and wrap tofu in fresh paper towels. Microwave 1 or 2 more times for 30 seconds each time, pouring off any liquid, until tofu feels firmer.
• Preheat broiler.
• Stir together miso, sugar, and sake in a small saucepan. (If miso mixture is very thick, stir in 1 tablespoon water.) Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until bubbling, glossy, and the consistency of ketchup, 1 to 3 minutes.
• Cut tofu in half horizontally and arrange, cut sides up, on a cutting board. Cut each half into 6 squares (pieces might not be perfectly square).
• Arrange tofu on a foil-lined broiler pan, cut sides up, and broil about 2 inches from heat until a crust just forms, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from oven and spread crusted side of each square with about 3/4 teaspoon miso mixture. Broil until tops are just bubbling and starting to color, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Skewer each square with 1 two-pronged pick or 2 parallel straight picks. Sprinkle with seeds.

DENGAKU

Steps:

• Take tofu wrap it in paper towel, place in microwave for 1 minute. This will help pull the water out of it. Remove paper towel, pat down tofu with paper towel then cut it into domino sized pieces. In a sauce pan heat oil then add tofu cook until it browns then turn it and cook again until that side browns. Remove Tofu, place on paper towel to drain excess oil. In same sauce pan heat up the Rice Wine mix in sugar until it dissolves. Mix in Miso paste, turn off range/stove top and keep mixing until well blended. If it's still lumpy, no worries. Once it's mixed turn on range again add tofu and cook on high for 1 minute or so. Plate the tofu, then drizzle sauce over it.

TOFU DENGAKU

Steps:

• Gather ingredients.
• Grind toasted sesame seeds in Japanese mortar and pestle until smooth.
• Add sugar, miso, garlic, ginger, and grind for some more until ingredients are well incorporated. Scraping the side with a spatula or wooden spoon.
• Add mirin and half of soy sauce and mix well. Check for the thickness and gradually add the rest of the soy sauce until the sauce is thick but easy to spread. Note: make sure the sauce is not too runny, otherwise it will not stick to tofu. Add chili oil if using.
• Store in a clean jar. It will keep for a week in the fridge.
• In a sink or over a baking dish, press tofu between two cutting boards for 30 minutes to an hour. This is to drain any excess water from the tofu.
• Heat oil in a pot over medium heat until 300 degrees. The oil should be deeper than the thickness of tofu.
• Working one to two tofu at a time, pat dry tofu and gently deep fry until golden brown and crispy on the outside. Repeat until all the tofu has been fried. Drain them on a paper towel and now you have atsuage.
• Turn the broiler on to medium-high.
• Once the atsuage is cool enough to handle, slice each atsuage into halves, lengthwise. Skewer each tofu slice with bamboo skewers, facing the sliced side up.
• Spoon the miso sauce on top of each tofu.
• On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil, place skewered tofu. Broil the skewers until the top bubbles and browns a bit. Use a culinary torch to lightly brown the top if not using a broiler.
• Remove from the broiler and sprinkle with sansho pepper or black sesame seeds (optional).

TOFU DENGAKU

Steps:

• Pierce each piece of tofu with either a two-pronged skewer or two skewers so that it won't fall apart when turned over. (The Japanese traditionally use bamboo skewers.) 2. Make the red miso topping by mixing all the ingredients, with the exception of the ginger. Place the mixture in the top section of a double boiler. Simmer over boiling water, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, which takes about 10 minutes. Stir in the ginger. Let the mixture cool prior to spreading it on the tofu. 3. Lightly grill or broil the tofu on both sides until it is slightly browned and hot. Spread a thin layer of miso on one side and grill for a minute or two to heat the miso up. Remove from heat, sprinkle with the desired toppings, and serve immediately, leaving the tofu on the skewers.