Tofu steak coated in Japanese seven spice flour - easy vegetarian recipe

This is a really simple meat-free/ vegetarian recipe that can be served with a salad or on top of a bowl of rice (tofu donburi).

Ingredients:
Block of firm tofu (500 - 700g), preferably GM free
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 tablespoon nanami-togarashi (Japanese seven spice)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (for frying)
Chopped spring onion and grated ginger (to garnish)

Instructions:
1. Remove the packaging and water from the block of tofu and place on a chopping board.

2. Cut into thick slices (about 1 inch thick).

3. To remove excess water wrap each slice in kitchen towel, place on a large plate and set aside for about 5 minutes. Remove the wet kitchen towel and wrap in kitchen towel again. Set aside for a further 5 minutes depending on the type of tofu (you may need to do this for 10 minutes each time).

4. Mix the flour and nanami-togarashi on a large plate.

5. Remove the kitchen towel from the tofu and coat each tofu slice in the flour mix.

6. Heat vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan on high heat.

7. Gently place the tofu slices on the pan and fry for a few minutes. Once nicely browned turn and fry on the other side for a few minutes.

8. Top with chopped spring onion and grated ginger then drizzle a little soy sauce over the tofu.

Tips:
- Put a heavy weight (e.g. book) on the tofu slices when wrapped in kitchen towel. This will help drain the water from the tofu in less time!

SPINACH, BEANSPROUT AND TOFU DONBURI

Donburi means bowl in Japanese but when referring to food it can mean a Japanese rice bowl dish. So when a dish is served sitting on a bowl of rice the name of the dish often ends with don (the abbreviation for donburi)!

Oyako-don (chicken and egg dish) and katsu-don (pork cutlet, egg and onion dish) are two of the most popular donburi dishes in Japan.

I made my own donburi dish one evening using leftovers in the fridge and was delighted to find that spinach and beansprouts go really well with tofu in a stir-fry. You can use whatever leftover vegetables you have at home for this dish once you have the rice and the seasoning. 

Serves 4
Prep time 10 mins
Cooking time 30 mins

Ingredients
Bowl of cooked rice per person serving
Vegetable oil or rapeseed oil (for frying)
Sesame oil (for frying)
150g tofu, preferably GM free (carefully cut into bite size rectangular pieces)
2 large garlic cloves (peeled and finely grated)
Thumbsize piece of ginger (peeled and finely grated)
150g Spinach/ Pak choi
150g Beansprouts

Seasoning:
2 tbsp sake (Japanese rice wine)
3 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar

Roasted sesame seeds or nanami togarashi (optional to garnish)

Instructions:
1. Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan on medium to high heat. 
2. Gently place the tofu pieces on the pan and fry both sides of the tofu until slightly browned.
3. Carefully place the fried tofu pieces on a plate and set aside.
4. Heat 1 tsp of vegetable oil and 1 tsp of sesame oil in a heavy based saucepan.
5. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for less than one minute (do not brown).
6. Toss in the beansprouts, spinach and finally add the fried tofu pieces.
7. Pour the sake evenly over the veg and tofu followed by soya sauce and sugar. Then gently stir.
8. Fry for a few minutes until the seasoning has absorbed into the vegetables and tofu.
9. Serve on top of a bowl of white rice.
10. Sprinkle roasted sesame seeds or nanami togarashi over the dish.

How to eat:
This dish can be served immediately with rice. It can also be eaten cold like a salad and tastes great the next day!

Tips:
1. Freeze leftover rice in the freezer in portion sizes wrapped in cling film.
2. Try not to overcook the vegetables.

Notes:
Please see my posts on Basic Japanese Ingredients to understand the basic ingredients used for Japanese cooking.
Basic Japanese Ingredients Part I
Basic Japanese Ingredients Part II

Japanese hearty breakfast - miso soup with poached egg

Japanese people consider breakfast to be one of the most important meals of the day. A traditional Japanese breakfast includes a bowl of rice, miso soup and side dishes which are usually leftover from the previous day's dinner.

It's not always practical to prepare a full traditional Japanese breakfast but this hearty miso soup is a nice compromise!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 litre homemade dashi stock or 1 litre water and 1 tbsp instant dashi granules

300g tofu, preferably GM free (cut into bite size cubes)
1 tbsp dried wakame 
1 poached egg (preferably organic or free range) per each bowl serving
2-3 tbsp miso paste (you can add more if you like a stronger taste) 
Scallions/ Spring onion (finely diced to garnish)
Sesame seeds or nanami togarashi (optional to garnish)

*Click here to see miso and dashi explained on my "Basic Japanese ingredients - what they are and where you can find them" post
*Click here to see my recipe for homemade dashi (fish stock) 

Instructions:

1. If you're using homemade dashi then click here to see how to make homemade dashi. Once the homemade dashi is ready put it in a medium sized saucepan and bring to the boil.
2. If you're using instant dashi granules then put 1 litre of cold water into a medium sized saucepan and bring to the boil. Then add 1 tbsp of instant dashi granules to the water and stir.
3. Once the dashi is boiling add the wakame seaweed and reduce the heat so that the water isn't boiling but simmering.
4. Gently toss the tofu pieces into the saucepan.
5. Dilute the miso paste in a cup of dashi taken from the saucepan. Then, add to the saucepan and gently mix all the ingredients. 
6. Pour the miso soup into a bowl.
7. Place the poached egg on top of the miso soup.
8. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds/nanami togarashi 

How to eat:
Serve in a bowl with chopsticks or a spoon. Japanese people hold the bowl to their mouth to drink the soup. They use chopsticks to eat the bite size ingredients in the soup.
 
Tips:  
Never boil the miso soup only allow to simmer.

Why not: 

Put udon noodles or one large spoon of boiled rice in the bottom of the bowl before pouring the miso soup.