My Daddy's Aburage Thing-ey
SKU:
This is slightly sweet, salty, slightly spicy dish my Dad made when I was a kid. We ate it as a side dish, similar to the way we had kimchi or tsukemono.
My Dad threw it together and couldn't remember how he did it, so my very resourceful Mother-in-Law found a base recipe that I could work from. Team effort all around.
My Dad threw it together and couldn't remember how he did it, so my very resourceful Mother-in-Law found a base recipe that I could work from. Team effort all around.
Ingredients
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1 package of unflavored (plain) aburage
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Sauce/Dressing
1T shoyu 1-2T Japanese vinegar (do not substitute) 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1-2t red pepper flakes 3-4 stalks of green onion, finely chopped 1-2T sesame oil |
What To Do
Set about 2 quarts of water in a pot to boil. While this is happening, slice aburage into thin strings, cutting in half if you think they are too long.
Put aburage strings into a pyrex bowl and pour about half of the hot water over it. Let aburage soak in completely.
Drain aburage into colander and squeeze out the excess water, using the back of a large spoon so as not to burn your hands off. Toss them around a few times and keeps squeezing out excess liquid. Pour strings back into the mixing bowl, and repeat with the other half of hot water.
Transfer back to the mixing bowl.
Mix together all the sauce ingredients. Pour over the aburage and toss together. If possible, let it sit for at least an hour.
Put aburage strings into a pyrex bowl and pour about half of the hot water over it. Let aburage soak in completely.
Drain aburage into colander and squeeze out the excess water, using the back of a large spoon so as not to burn your hands off. Toss them around a few times and keeps squeezing out excess liquid. Pour strings back into the mixing bowl, and repeat with the other half of hot water.
Transfer back to the mixing bowl.
Mix together all the sauce ingredients. Pour over the aburage and toss together. If possible, let it sit for at least an hour.
Notes
- Aburage is a fried tofu pouch, and comes in pre-seasoned or plain versions. Typically, aburage are used to make inari-zushi, also know as cone or football sushi.
- The most important thing is to make sure to use the UNFLAVORED aburage. This can be found in the refrigerated section at most Japanese grocery stores, including Marukai, Nijiya and Mitsuwa. In Hawaii, you can probably just go to Don Quijote or Foodland. FLAVORED aburage coms in a can. Do not substitute.
- Try to squeeze as much liquid out as possible from the aburage before adding the sauce.
- It will not look like a lot of sauce, but a little will go a long way.