Japanese Chilled Tofu (Hiyayakko)

First off, I'd like to say that I am so thankful to be in a place where I can go out and voice my opinion at the polls without fear, to be able to live in a place where I can hobnob with all different types of people of all cultures and share in their wonderful foods, and to be able to embrace the differences and similarities that make each person unique.

As an example, I'm thinking back to a few years ago to the time when I went out with my cousin at Foo Foo Tei in Hacienda Heights. We were a party of a Viet-Chinese and a Thai-Chinese sitting down for dinner with Chinese cousins at a Japanese restaurant and enjoying our conversation in English. That day, cousin-in-law let me try Japanese chilled tofu at Foo Foo Tei in Hacienda Heights. Immediately I thought that for the fours bucks I paid for a small cube of tofu, I could get me 16 times that much if I made it myself. Seemed easy enough to replicate, so I did.

Hiyayakko is more a summer dish that is common in Japan, but now our family of tofu lovers eat it throughout the year. It's basically a cube of cold silken tofu (usually) that can be topped with various items, but the most common toppings are green onions and katsuobushi. I also often top the tofu with whatever sprouts I can find (alfalfa, diakon), but I left it out this time because I didn't have any on hand. I also sometimes sprinkle sesame seed on the tofu.

The basic ingredients needed for this dish are:

4 oz cube of cold, silken (soft) tofu
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
1 tablespoon bonito flakes (katsuobushi)
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce

I buy my tofu pre-packaged from Costco or 99 Ranch because it's so much easier than making it myself, and I can keep packages in the fridge on hand. The tofu in these packages sit in water. Just open them and drain the water. You can also buy tofu online. There are so many brands of tofu available. Just try different brands and see which on you like. If you can find it fresh or can make it yourself, go for it. Just pour the sesame oil and soy sauce on the tofu first, then add the green onions and lastly, the bonito flakes.

The flakes are actually dried fish shavings that are often sold at Asian supermarkets in packages. If they get wet, they will get soggy, so make sure you put these on last.

Happy Election Day for those of you in the States, and make sure you go vote. I'll be dragging my 5 month old, three year old, and five year old with me by myself to the polls this afternoon, so if I can do it, you can too.

I am submitting this dish to Regional Recipes, a blogging event created at Blazing Hot Wok to celebrate food from the different regions of the world. This month, Wandering Chopsticks is hosting the event to celebrate food from Japan. If you've got a recipe you'd like to submit, do so by November 15 by sending it to wanderingchopsticks(at)gmail(dot)com. Please check out Regional Recipes for the rules.

Ya Want Some Dong Gua, Don'tcha?

Last weekend, my mother-in-law gave me this gigantic and amazingly fresh wintermelon (dong gua in Chinese, bi dao in Vietnamese) that she grew in her own backyard. So of course I made traditional wintermelon soup with it. You can find wintermelon in asian supermarkets. They have a mild, refreshing taste to them, almost like a cucumber. Did you know you can keep unopened wintermelon for months and then cook them in the winter? Hence the name wintermelon.

To make good wintermelon soup, the secret is in the stock. I simmered a few chicken bones and a tablespoon of ground pork in two quarts of water for about two hours.

In the meantime, wash 8 shitake mushrooms (I used dried since I didn't have any fresh on hand). Then, cut into the wintermelon and scoop out the seeds. Peel, wash, and cut into large chunks about a quarter of a large wintermelon. I also like tofu skin in my soup:

I usually get the sheets of tofu skin, but Ranch 99 didn't have any, so I got these rolls of tofu skin instead. Tofu skin is actually the sheets that are left over after you boil soybeans for a long time. You can get them dried or fresh. I prefer fresh, but I find that they go bad very quickly, so I always use them within a day after purchase. These are also called yuba in Japanese.

When the stock has been going for an hour and half, add in the wintermelon and the mushrooms and continue simmering. Add in the tofu skin after another 15 minutes and then flavor with about a tablespoon of salt, a tablespoon of sugar, and a teaspoon of black pepper. Simple and healthy.