Deep Fried, Asian-Fusion, and Vegan

My soupy entree version of the Agedashi Tofu appetizer.
Pictured here: the signature deep fried tofu served over a soft taro submerged
in white miso soup topped with cooked daikon in clear consomme.

One of my favorite Japanese appetizer makes for a great Vegan entree. If you're fearless of deep fried food, this is for you.

Traditionally, Agedashi Tofu is served with fried eggplants submerged in the sauce with the fried tofu topped with bonito and nori flakes. This is extremely delicious and often found in restaurants. For a home version, if frying up eggplant sounds like setting off the fire alarm try steaming or pan-steaming. A baked tofu wouldn't give you the same textures in the actual tofu dish, but if you're avoidant of all things fried -- pan frying it to give it some crisp may be a great alternative.

Ingredients:

Tofu (I used one block of Moriniku firm tofu)

A starch (corn or potato)

Dashi (Japanese fish broth; if you're vegan, try the tempura seasoning or shoyu for ramen noodles)

Eggplants (lighter dinner) or Taro (fuller dinner)

Prep the tofu by drying it between paper towels, season the tofu with salt and pepper, add to the tofu a layer of starch this will absorb the remaining bits of moisture on the outer surface of the tofu before you deep fry it. Heat up oil in the fryer. Submerge the tofu into the oil and allow to crisp until golden. (I used a deep fat fryer for this, since the light indicator tells me exactly when the oil is hot, at what temperature it is at, and when it returns back to the temperature setting. By knowing the oil returns to the temperature setting, I know when the food is cooked and can then decide whether to stop crispying or browning the fried food.) It will take about 4-5 minutes before your tofu is ready from the fryer. Once it's done, let it rest in and drip off any excess oil.

The sauce:

In a sauce pan, prep the Agedashi Tofu sauce. My blend is dashi, sake, soy sauce, and water. The vegan version is tempura sauce with water. Feel free to add a hint of miso paste especially if you're looking to replace a fish soup dinner with this vegetarian dish.

Variations:

Since I am making an entree version, my plate is finished with freshly harvested microgreens from my kitchen garden -- as a garnish and for extra supergreen nutrients. My microgreen blend is mustard green, broccoli, and alfalfa. You can also submerge the green in soup and serve it in the base of the eggplant with the tofu on top. This will steer you away from the Japanese traditional Agedashi Tofu dish but give you a very filling Japanese inspired fusion dinner entree. I have made different variations of Agedashi Tofu, home version, here is one I made with the stewed taro in the sauce -- perfect for cold blistering Boston winters:

• Cook the taro with a white miso paste and kelp/kombu in soup/water the day before. The taro should become very soft and managable. At this point you can store the taro for a week to eat with other dishes or as an add on to a miso soup. For the purpose of this entree dish size of the Agedashi Tofu, I reheated the taro along with the sauce before serving it with the fried tofu and some daikon (cooked in consomme).
• If you're cooking with eggplants, prep the eggplants by seasoning then steaming or pan-steam. 

The warmed taro was stewed in miso soup the day before
and is in the base of my white miso soup for this entree version.