Chilled Tofu is a great appetiser with beer or any other drinks, particularly in summer time. It is one of the simplest dishes you will ever encounter and you can use various toppings.
With the exception of the Mentaiko and Okra Topping, other toppings can be 100% vegetarian if you use vegetarian dashi stock such as konbu dashi.
Prep Time and Cook Time are based on the time required to make Mentaiko and Okra topping or Miso Eggplant topping as they take longer than the others.
Serve with soy sauce to be poured on when eating.
Bring water in a saucepan to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and okra pieces.
Boil for 1-2 minutes until okra pieces are softened. Do not boil too long.
Put okra pieces and the mentaiko eggs in a bowl and mix well ensuring that the mentaiko mixes evenly with the okra.
Serve with the sauce to pour over when eating.
1. Tofu does not have to be a silken tofu. If you prefer a harder texture with a bit more tofu flavour, use firm tofu instead.
2. Please see Ponzu dressing recipe in my post, Japanese Dressings.
Instead of making ponzu dressing, you could buy a bottle of ponzu at Japanese/Asian grocery stores if you prefer.
Instead of ponzu dressing, you can use normal soy sauce or light soy sauce.
3. Mentaiko is the whole roe sack of pollock roe that is cured with salt, then marinated in seasonings and chilli powder. Please see my post for more details and a photo.
4. Chilli bean paste is called doubanjiang or toban-djan (豆板醤). You can buy a bottle of doubanjian at Asian grocery stores.
5. Nutrition information is for one serving when served 4 servings as appetiser, with Miso Eggplant Topping.
serving: 99g calories:68kcal fat: 4.6g (7%) saturated fat: 0.6g (3%) polyunsaturated fat: 2.2g monounsaturated fat: 1.5g cholesterol: 0.1mg (0%) sodium: 52mg (2%) potassium: 132mg (4%) carbohydrates: 2g (1%) dietary fibre: 0.5g (23%) sugar: 1.2g protein: 5.8g vitamin a: 0.2% vitamin c: 0.6% calcium: 6.5% iron: 4.9%