Imitation Tofu Omelette (Gisei Tofu)

Imitation Tofu Omelette (Gisei Tofu) is a Japanese omelette with tofu and vegetables mixed into it. Although I call it an omelette, it is not made like a standard omelette in a frying pan. The cooking method is closer to a frittata, but the shape of the omelette is a block like tofu instead of a round shape.

The Japanese name of today’s dish, ‘gisei tofu’ (擬製豆腐) means imitation tofu. It does not include the word for ‘omelette’ or ‘egg’, even though the dish has a good amount of egg in it. Here is the reason why.

It is said that the dish was invented by monks who were only allowed to eat Shōjin Ryōri (Buddhist vegetarian cuisine). Because they could only eat vegetables, they mixed eggs into the broken tofu pieces with chopped vegetables and cooked the mixture into a tofu shape, disguising it as a tofu dish.

There are other stories, such as Gisei being the name of the monk who invented this dish. But I like the story of cheeky monks wanting to eat a prohibited ingredient in disguise!

What’s in my Imitation Tofu Omelette (Gisei Tofu)

• Momen tofu (firm tofu)
• Carrot cut into thin batons
• Boiled bamboo shoots cut into thin batons
• Boiled edamame beans
• Julienned wood ear mushrooms (or black fungus)
• Eggs
• Oil

The ingredients of Imitation Tofu Omelette are very similar to Fried Tofu Patties (Ganmodoki), but the omelette does not contain corn flour/cornstarch.

Wood ear mushrooms and black fungus are similar and used almost interchangeably in cooking, but they are different species. They are sold in a dried form, and you need to rehydrate them before cooking. The colour of dried wood ear mushrooms is almost black. The colour of black fungus is black on one side and grey on the other side, although it becomes black when rehydrated. Wood ear mushrooms are softer and faster to cook.

The combination of vegetables can vary. Other vegetables that are suited for Gisei Tofu include (but not limited to) green onion, mushrooms, hijiki seaweed, and beans.

Flavouring

• Light soy sauce
• Mirin
• Sugar

How to make Imitation Tofu Omelette (Gisei Tofu)

You can cook Gisei Tofu either on a cooktop using a tamagoyaki pan (rectangular Japanese omelette pan) or in the oven using a small rectangular/square baking pan.

The detailed instructions for both methods are in the recipe card. The steps below are the high-level process of making Gisei Tofu using a tamagoyaki pan.

1. Remove excess water from the tofu.
2. Sauté vegetables in a frying pan, then add the Flavouring ingredients and tofu to the pan.
3. Cook until the moisture in the pan mostly evaporates, breaking tofu into small pieces.
4. Transfer the mixture to a bowl with beaten eggs. Mix well.
5. Pour the egg and tofu mixture to the tamagoyaki pan and cook over low heat.
6. Shift the mixture to one side using a spatula so that the thickness of the mixture becomes about 3cm/1⅛”.
7. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then turn it over. Cook for further 3-4 minutes.
8. Transfer the Gisei Tofu to a cutting board and cut it into large bite size pieces.

My tamagoyaki pan was a bit too large to make a block of Gisei Tofu with the adequate thickness, so I pushed the mixture to one side to reduce the size of the block. If your pan is smaller, you don’t have to shift the mixture. Alternatively, you can increase the quantity of ingredients to fill the pan.

Baking in the Oven

If baking the mixture in the oven, line your cake pan with baking paper, pour the egg and tofu mixture into the pan and bake it at 180°C/356°F for 25 minutes.

You can cut your Gisei Tofu into any size you like. I cut mine into 12 pieces so that each piece can be picked up with chopsticks. It is quite alright to serve one large piece too.

By varying the vegetables to go into the mixture, the appearance of your sliced Gisei Tofu changes quite a lot. You can serve several pieces on a plate as a main dish or 1-2 pieces as a side dish or even as a nibble for drinks. You can make Gisei Tofu a day before serving, which makes it perfect for a bento box too.

Yumiko

5 from 1 vote

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Imitation Tofu Omelette (Gisei Tofu)

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

45 mins

 

Imitation Tofu Omelette (Gisei Tofu) is a Japanese omelette with tofu and vegetables mixed into it. Although I call it an Omelette, it is not made like a standard omelette in a frying pan. The cooking method is closer to a frittata, but the shape of the omelette is not round. It is made into a block like tofu.

The Cook Time shows the time required using a cooktop.

Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.

Recipe Type: Main, Side

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: Japanese Omelette, vegetarian dish

Serves: 2 -3 as main

Author: Yumiko

Ingredients (tbsp=15ml, cup=250ml)

• 1 pack momen tofu/firm tofu (300g/0.7lb, note 1)
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 tbsp oil

Vegetables (note 2)

• 50g/1.8oz carrot cut into 3mm/⅛" thick 4cm/1 19⁄16" long batons
• 50g/1.8oz boiled bamboo shoots cut into 3mm/⅛" thick 4cm/1 19⁄16" long batons (note 3)
• ¼ cup edamame beans (boiled)
• 30g/1.1oz wood ear mushrooms/black fungus rehydrated and julienned thinly

Flavouring

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce (note 4)
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1 tsp sugar

Instructions

1. Wrap the tofu in a couple of pieces of kitchen paper and place it on a cutting board.
2. Place something underneath one end of the cutting board to tilt the board and position it so that the excess water drains into the sink (just in case).

3. Place a tray on top of the tofu, then place a weight of about 1kg/2.2lb on top (I used a carton of long-life milk). Leave it for 20 minutes, then remove the kitchen paper.

4. Put oil in a frying pan and heat over medium heat.
5. Add all the Vegetables ingredients to the pan and stir-fry them for 4-5 minutes.

6. Add the Flavouring ingredients and tofu to the pan and sauté, breaking the block into small pieces, until moisture is mostly evaporated (see the Step-by-step photo).

7. Transfer the tofu mixture to a bowl with beaten egg and mix well.

Cooking on a Cooktop Using a Tamagoyaki Pan (note 5)

1. Oil the inside of the pan thinly using a brush or a piece of folded kitchen paper and heat it at low temperature.

2. Pour the mixture into the pan. Push the mixture to one side so that the mixture fills to about 5mm below the rim of the pan (the mixture becomes 3cm/1⅛" thick, note 6).

3. Cook for 4-5 minutes, occasionally pushing the side of the mixture that does not have a boundary to keep the square shape.
4. Flip the mixture onto the back of a tray or a flat plate (cooked side up), then slide the mixture back into the pan, placing the side that you pushed with the spatula against the metal side of the pan.

5. Cover the surface with a sheet of aluminium foil (so that it cooks through faster) and cook for 3-4 minutes.

6. Transfer the cooked Gisei Tofu to a cutting board and cut it into 12 pieces (note 7).

Cooking in the Oven Using a Cake Pan (note 8)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/356°F. Line the cake pan with baking paper.

2. Pour the mixture into the pan. Drop the pan onto the work bench so that that bottom corners of the pan are filled with the mixture.

3. Level the surface of the mixture and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

4. Transfer the Gisei Tofu from the pan together with the baking paper.

5. Open the paper and cut it into large bite size pieces (note 9).

Recipe Notes

1. Silken tofu is not suited for this dish because the tofu is too watery.

2. There are no rules as to what goes into the mixture. You can use other vegetables such as green onion, mushrooms, hijiki seaweed, and beans.

3. I used vacuum packed boiled Japanese bamboo shoots, but you can also use boiled bamboo shoots in a can.

4. I used light soy sauce to avoid making the colour of the cooked Tofu Omelette too dark. But you can use normal soy sauce such as Kikkoman soy sauce if you don’t have light soy sauce. Dark soy is not suited.

5. The size of my tamagoyaki pan was 13cm x 18cm/5⅛" x 7 1⁄16", and the depth was 3.5cm/1⅜".

6. The area of my tamagoyaki pan was a little bit too wide for the volume of the mixture, resulting in a thin Gisei Tofu. So, I only used part of the pan to make the 3cm/1⅛"-thick Gisei Tofu.

If your pan is smaller, you don't need to shift the mixture. Alternatively, you can increase the quantity of the ingredients to fill your pan.

7. You can cut it into smaller or larger pieces.

8. I used a 12.5cm/4 5⁄16" square cake pan.

9. I cut it into 10 pieces by halving it, then slicing each half perpendicular to the first cut into 5 pieces.

10. You can make ahead 1 day before serving.

11. Nutrition per serving assuming 3 servings.

serving: 203g calories: 216kcal fat: 14g (18%) saturated fat: 2.3g (12%) trans fat: 0.1g polyunsaturated fat: 4.2g monounsaturated fat: 5.9g cholesterol: 124mg (41%) sodium: 428mg (19%) carbohydrates: 8.9g (3%) dietary fibre: 2.5g (9%) sugar: 6g protein: 16g vitamin D: 1mcg (4%) calcium: mg (24%) iron: 3.1mg (17%) potassium: 344mg (7%)