Agedashi dofu (lightly fried tofu) (揚げ出し豆腐)
Agedashi dofu is a dish of tofu lightly dusted with starch or flour, then deep fried, and served in dashi broth or dashi-based sauce seasoning with soy sauce. It is a typical Japanese home cooking dish as well as the standard item for the Izakaya (tavern) menu.
Summary
In most Agedashi dofu, the tofu is dusted with starch and deep fried, but there is another recipe in which the tofu is dusted with flour. This is due to differences in personal tastes and family traditions. There is a big difference between a starch coating and a flour coating; they differ in oil absorbency after deep frying and texture; pouring hot dashi-based sauce on the starch coating one and leaving it for a while make the sauce become moderately thick.
Cooking instructions
Wrap the tofu with a paper towel and put a weight on it to drain well.
Dredge drained tofu lightly with starch or flour and deep fry at about 180 ℃.
Make hot dashi-based sauce.
Serve it in a bowl, and pour the sauce over it.
Momen dofu (firm tofu), which is hard to crumble, is suitable for this recipe.
Others
The long-established restaurant called 'Agedashi' located in Motokuromon-cho, Shitaya, Taito Ward, Tokyo (present-day Ueno Ikenohata) before the war, was very popular among Yoshiwara customers (Yoshiwara: a red-light district in Edo, present-day Tokyo) because Agedashi dofu was served early in the morning, and bathing was available for all guests. The restaurant is the birthplace of Gentaro KOITO, a Western-style painter.