#71 Fried Tofu with Sesame Seeds, Daikon and Ginger

A nice and simple fragrant dish. I like tofu, and when coated then fried with the sesame seeds, both flavors blended together beautifully. The grated fresh daikon radish and ginger is eaten with it and then dipped in warm sauce.. it changes the entire taste!.."Yum! That's really good!", I said after the first bite and more "Yum!" followed. I am aware that I have such a low maintenance set of taste buds...almost everything tastes great! Ha! :) And so these new flavors, are just simply heavenly to me. I have not seen this in any Japanese restaurants so it's really great to find and taste it for the first time in our kitchen.

Yield: 4 servings


FRIED TOFU with SESAME SEEDS, DAIKON and GINGER

Ingredients:

600 g firm tofu
1/3 cup plain flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup black sesame seeds
1/3 cup white sesame seeds
vegetable oil, for deep frying
1/2 cup finely grated, drained well
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

For the sauce:

1/3 cup primary dashi
1 teaspoon mirin
1 tablespoon japanese soy sauce

Directions:

1. Press tofu between two chopping boards with a weight on top, raise one end; let stand for 25 minutes.
2. Cut tofu into cubes (2.5 cm) cubes, toss in flour- shake off excess flour. Dip tofu in egg, then in combined seeds to coat.
3. Heat oil in medium sauce pan or a deep fryer; cook tofu, in batches, until browned lightly all over, drain on absorbent paper or wire rack. Serve with warmed sauce and daikon topped with ginger.
4. Heat combined sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Serve.

TIPS: If you are allergic to sesame seeds, you can use breadcrumbs to coat before frying.

Recipe adapted from: Australian Women's Weekly Magazine

Japan is the world's largest importer of sesame seeds, which is a very important component of Japanese cuisine. Burma and India are the largest exporter of Sesame Seeds. The seed, which is commonly off-white in color, also comes in buff, tan, gold, brown, reddish, gray and black colors.