Silken tofu is usually served cold, in dishes such as hiyayakko , in which it is combined with other ingredients: grated ginger, shavings of dried bonito, and green onions. Drizzle with soy sauce if it is not already seasoned. It is a very popular dish in summer, as it resembles a refreshing salad.
The tofu in miso soup and other hot dishes is usually a firmer tofu . Among them is mabodofu , a dish of Chinese origin adopted by Japan that consists of cubes of tofu mixed with a spicy sauce of fermented black beans, minced pork and red chili. Tofu is also a common ingredient in fondue , a meal in which everyone cooks their ingredients in a broth that is kept warm in the center of the table Japanese restaurant.
Sliced fried tofu ( aburaage ) has various uses: sometimes lightly sweetened, it can be used as small pockets filled with a vinegar rice ball and obtained inarizushi , a type of sushi (without fish) that can be eaten anywhere in Japan .
It can also be cut into triangles to use in kitsune udon , literally “fox udon noodles.” Fried tofu is said to be one of the fox’s favorite dishes, so you can try it around shrines dedicated to Inari, such as the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto.
A final example of a tofu dish belongs to the cuisine of Buddhist monks and comes to us from Mount Kōya : fried tofu is frozen and then thawed, to be served in a broth or sauce. The preparation process gives this tofu a spongy texture that absorbs the flavor of the liquid in which it is submerged. The monks of Koyasan regularly serve this type of tofu to their visitors, but it is a specialty that can be found in almost all of Japan’s vegetarian shōjin ryōri cuisine .