Atsuage Recipe ( Abura-age 油揚げ )

Photo: http://j-cooking.com

---

 

 

TRADITIONAL JAPANESE RECIPE: Atsuage is essentially deep fried Tofu. You won't need anything else for this simple side dish. Atsuage is an important ingredient in Japanese cooking, so much so that you can find it in almost every bento box from any supermarket across the country.

Although deep fried, it is still quite healthy as it is made of Tofu, with healthy plant-based protein, but it has a little more body and deeper flavor from being fried in oil.

Abura-age is often used to wrap inari-zushi (稲荷寿司), and is added to miso soup. It is also added to udon noodle dishes, which are called kitsune-udon because of legends that foxes (kitsune) like deep-fried tofu. Abura-age can also be stuffed, e.g. with nattō, before frying again. There is a thicker variety known as atsu-age (厚揚げ)　or nama-age (生揚げ).

Even though you can buy Atsuage at any supermarket in Japan, it may not be so easily available outside Japan. Luckily, it is easy enough to make right in your kitchen. Try this, and you will enjoy fresh Atsuage at home.

 

 

 

---

---

Skill Level:	Time: 2 Hours
Price:	Serves: 2 People

---

---

 

 

 

Ingredients:

---

Conversions

 

 

 

Directions:

---

 

01 - Wrap the Tofu with a paper towel and place on to a plate.

02 - Microwave the Tofu (inside the paper towel ) for 3 minutes.

03 - Change the paper towel: carefully remove the wet paper towel, and wrap the Tofu with a new paper towel.

04 - Place some weight on the wrapped Tofu to remove exessive water that still remains inside and leave the Tofu with the weight on top for a couple of hours in the fridge, changing the paper towels a few times.

05 - In a frying pan, heat the Oil at medium heat to 180C / 350F.

06 - While the Oil heats, cut the Tofu in half.

07 - Deep fry the two halves of Tofu until golden brown, turning once or twice.

08 - Remove the Tofu from the Oil using a wire mesh skimmer (sometimes called a spider spoon) or with a fork being very careful and, transfer them on to some paper towel. Tap with the paper towel to remove the excessive Oil.

09 - Cut into bite size pieces if you want.

10 - Top with chopped Green Onion and Grated Ginger, and drizzle some Soy Sauce on top. Serve hot.

Notes:

---

 

- Make sure to prep the Tofu brick to remove excess moisture before frying so that the Tofu doesn’t splatter oil. It takes hours to do so.

---

---

Written by: Uncut Recipes

Disclaimer

---

---