Agadashi Tofu (vegan)

Serves 4
This delicate recipe makes great use of fresh medium-soft tofu which will be crisp on the outside, soft in the middle. If you feel brave, you can try with silken tofu but this requires VERY gentle handling.

"This popular dish with its mild sauce and array of exotic garnishes is often served in an izakaya - the traditional Japanese bar that the salaryman frequents after work for a drink and a quick bite before making the long commute home."
~ Hema Parekh, 'The Asian Vegan Kitchen'

FOR THE TOFU
2 blocks of medium-soft or silken tofu about 300g (11 oz)
1/2 cup (80g) potato starch
vegetable oil for deep-frying

FOR THE SAUCE
1/2 cup (120ml) kombu  dashi (see method)
2 teaspoons of sake (optional)
2 teaspoons of mirin
2 Tablespoons of soy sauce

FOR THE GARNISHES (choose those you like)
60g (2 oz) daikon, peeled and grated
2.5cm (1 inch) cube fresh ginger, peeled and grated
Nori seaweed, toasted carefully over element, until crisp, cut into strips
Chopped chives
White sesame seeds, toasted in dry frying pan until aromatic
Shishito peppers
Shichimi 7-spice mix


TO MAKE THE DASHI

3 pieces of kombu kelp, each approx 10cm x 5 cm (4x2 inches)
3 1/2 cups of water

Soak the kombu in the water for 1 hour, then remove the kombu, and use the water as dashi. (If short on time, place water and kombu in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. As soon as it starts to boil, remove the kombu, turn off heat.


METHOD FOR AGEDASHI TOFU

1. Wrap each block of tofu in a thick dish towel and place in a flat dish. Let stand for 30 minutes.
2. arrange all the garnishes in small bowls and set them on the table.
3. in a small saucepan, combine all the sauce ingredients, and bring to. a boil. Turn the heat down to medium and and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Cut each block of tofu in half. Dab each piece in the potato starch, turning to coat evenly. Set aside on a dry dish. If you can, fry the tofu as soon as it is coated so coating stays on.
5. Fill one third of the frying pan with the vegetable oil and heat to 180 degrees celsius (350 F). Put one coated tofu piece in the hot oil and deep-fry until both sides are crisp and brown. Repeat with the remaining pieces. Drain on a paper towel. 
6. Transfer the tofu pieces to individual bowls. Pour a little sauce around the sides. Garnishes can be added according to individual preferences.

Here is a video tutorial (narrated by dog!) for a recipe for 2 people - or one person, one dog, I guess.

Agedashi Tofu by 'Cooking with Dog'

Falafel

So pleased to have delicious falafel that don't fall apart. I think my previous mistakes were too many wet ingredients and maybe wrong oil temperature. Feel free to skip any herbs and spices you don't want. I keep chopped herbs in the freezer for recipes like this. For the breadcrumbs I just tore a chunk of bread and chopped it in blender before adding the chickpeas.

Chickpeas 3 cups pre-soaked, rinsed, drained and dried off. (1.5 cups dry soaked in 2 litres of water 8 hours / overnight).
OR 2x400g tins of chickpeas, drained, rinsed, patted dry. (the liquid can be reserved for some other recipes)
Onion 1/2 average size (about 80 g) finely chopped
Garlic 1-2 cloves, crushed
Parsley 1 Tablespoon, finely chopped
Coriander fresh, 1 Tablespoon, finely chopped
Coriander powder 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin powder 1/2 teaspoon
Cayenne pepper powder 1/4 teaspoon
Cardamom powder 1/4 teaspoon
Baking soda 1/2 teaspoon
Breadcrumbs fresh, 1/2 - 1 cup (can be skipped but breadcrumbs or a little flour, 2-4 Tablespoons, helps keep them quite light and bind together, especially if using canned chickpeas.)
Tahini paste 1 Tablespoon (or substitute olive oil)

In a food processor, whizz together the chickpeas, onion, garlic and fresh herbs (if you've washed these make sure to dry well to avoid adding too much liquid to mixture).

Once you have a good paste-like texture, mix in dry spices, baking soda, breadcrumbs/flour and tahini/oil. Mix these in until you have a soft but firm mixture.

with clean, wet hands, form into walnut-sized balls (about 25g). make sure to squeeze firmly enough to ensure shape holds and doesn't crumble. If you will be shallow-frying or baking, these can be flattened into more fat disk shapes. For deep(ish) frying, leave as balls. If you like you can roll them in sesame seeds or flour but they should be fine as they are.

These often benefit from resting in the fridge for a while (to firm up) but if mixture is not too moist they are fine to cook straight away.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, add about 7cm oil. Heat to 180 degrees Celsius (or if you don't have deep frying thermometer, until a piece of stale bread dropped into oil browns in about 50 seconds). Fry in several batches until browned on the outside and cooked in the middle (test one). About 3-4 minutes. Drain them in a colander lined with paper towels or on a cake cooling rack while you cook the next batch.

Serve hot.

I will add a tahini sauce recipe and other serving ideas later. x