Extra Crispy 20 Minute Japanese Agedashi Tofu
Fried Japanese Tofu Just Like Japanese Restaurants
Welcome to Day 16 of Cooking 20 Minute Dinner for 21 Days! Today we are making one of my favorite Japanese dishes, Agedashi Tofu – Japanese Fried Tofu. A sweet and savory sauce poured over crispy, golden brown tofu. You will never believe how easy it is to make this popular Izakaya restaurant recipe at home with just a few simple ingredients!
I ALWAYS order Agedashi Tofu whenever I visit Japanese restaurants because it is honestly the best dish ever. Ever since I found out how easy it was to make at home, I always make this when I have guests over, and they all swear it tastes better than restaurants! The sauce is a perfect balance between sweet and savory, and the dashi stocks provide all the umami flavors.
Agedashi Tofu Ingredients
- 1 pack Medium-Firm Tofu
- 1 cup Corn Starch
- 1 cup dashi stock or mushroom stock.
- 4 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 4 tbsp Mirin
- 3 tbsp grated Daikon
- 1 tbsp Bonito Flakes
- 1 stalk Green Onion chopped
Deep Fried Tofu
Our Fried Tofu today is actually super simple! Today I’m using medium-firm tofu, which has more of the consistency of scrambled eggs.
To fry your tofu, all you need is a light dusting of corn starch. The corn starch creates that crispy, tasty shell that we all love. Once dusted, I sometimes let it sit for a minute so the surface moisture wets the cornstarch a little better. This helps it hold better during air frying.
Grated Daikon
Grated Daikon is one of those classic Japanese toppings that actually make Agedashi tofu more than just a fried tofu. The grated daikon adds a fresh, peppery lightness that cools down the piping hot fried tofu. It’s like a palette-cleanser that melts well into the dashi sauce.
It is always best to grate the daikon fresh before serving, or it’ll lose the peppery flavor. For more peppery flavor, use the tip of the daikon.
Dashi Tsuyu Sauce
Agedashi tofu uses tsuyu as the sauce base for this dish. Tsuyu is a fairly universal sauce in Japanese cuisine made simply of dashi, mirin, and soy sauce. This sauce is used for dipping tempura, soba noodles, and of course, agedashi tofu.
I sometimes like to add some variation in this sauce by adding some yuzu pepper, shichimi togarashi (七味粉), ponzu, or some wasabi.
Step By Step Instructions for Agedashi Tofu
- Prepare the sauce by bringing the dashi stock, soy sauce, and mirin to a simmer in a pot. Cook for 5 minutes and set aside.
- Drain the tofu and pat dry. Cut the tofu into 1-inch pieces and cover with corn starch.
- In a pan, add oil and turn the heat up to medium-high. Once the oil is hot, add in the tofu and fry for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
- In a serving bowl, add fried tofu, drizzle sauce all over the tofu, add in 1 tbsp of grated daikon, and garnish with green onion and bonito flakes.
Air Fryer Instead Of Deep Frying
For those who don’t want to fry with oil, you can also use an air fryer. Make sure to spray down the air fryer first with oil and fry it at 380F for 15-17 minutes. The air fryer is a great weeknight healthy alternative.
However, if you are serving guests, I would still HIGHLY recommend frying it to get the restaurant-style quality.
For the full recipe, check out my Air Fryer Agedashi Tofu!
Recreate more Japanese Restaurant Dishes at home!
Extra Crispy 20 Minute Japanese Agedashi Tofu
By Tiffy Cooks
Ingredients
- 1 pack Medium-Firm Tofu
- 1 cup Corn Starch
- 1 cup dashi stock or mushroom stock.
- 4 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 4 tbsp Mirin
- 3 tbsp grated Daikon
- 1 tbsp Bonito Flakes
- 1 stalk Green Onion chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the sauce by bringing the dashi stock, soy sauce, and mirin to a simmer in a pot. Cook for 5 minutes and set aside.
- Drain the tofu and pat dry. Cut the tofu into 1-inch pieces and cover with corn starch.
- In a pan, add oil and turn the heat up to medium-high. Once the oil is hot, add in the tofu and fry for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
- In a serving bowl, add fried tofu, drizzle sauce all over the tofu, add in 1 tbsp of grated daikon, and garnish with green onion and bonito flakes.
