Ingredient Spotlight: Koya-Dofu

In a few days I’ll be making some chirashi zushi, which I’ve made in the past but am trying now with different ingredients — the recipe comes from the owner of Kikunoi, and it calls for Koya-Dofu, which I’ve never tried before. It’s basically freeze-dried tofu, which looks like one of those expanding sponges. The monks at Mount Koya developed the technique of freezing the tofu to dehydrate it, producing a block lighter than these floral foams. (A different view of its history is recounted here.) A.k.a. kori-dofu or shimi-dofu, it’s a shelf-stable product so you can keep it in stock and pull it out for emergencies. Simmer it in some stock flavored with konbu, maybe a bit of soy sauce, and you’ve got yourself a healthy soup!

Here are instructions for rehydrating it properly.

What else to use it for?

Here’s an idea, Minced Chicken Balls and Koya-Dofu Simmered in Dashi, from Kikkoman.

From Cooking with Chopsticks, a recipe for Koya-dofu and Wakame Miso Soup.