Cold Tofu (Hiyayakko)

Chanced upon this at a friend's place. An avid Japanese cook, she never fail to impress me with her creativity and energy. In this day and age where mothers are often busy and distracted, you hardly meet many young mothers who are dedicated to the children and kitchen all at the same time. Janet is one such gem.

Inspired by her, I went in search for the necessary ingredients to make this quick sure-won't-go-wrong dish.

Went to j-Mart at Star and bought a pack of bonito flakes. I even went as far as to call Unicurd to check out their tofu range and to make sure they are safe to be consumed raw and cold. Of course, the organic tofu would be better for anything raw I reckon. And it'd be doubly-best if I can get my hands on their Yakko Tofu. Unfortunately, they are not readily available at all supermarkets. So I settled on Extra Smooth Silken Tofu.

I like it. Boys love it. Man is cool about it (eyeballs roll skyward). Boys been asking for it and wanted more -- after they have reconciled the savory taste with a cold tofu. Took them two mouthfuls to 'register' the chill because they were half expecting a warm dish, liken a 'tau hwei'.

Here's what you'd need:

* 1 block of Silken Tofu (I used Unicurd Extra Smooth Silken Tofu)
* Spring onions (diced to small bits)
* Grated ginger (small amount; optional)
* Bonito flakes
* Soy Sauce (use a good one, Kikkomann Soy Sauce is recommended)

This is what I did:

1. Remove Tofu from the box*. Rinse and cut to size (one piece per person per bowl)

2. Place cut tofu on a serving bowl. Drizzle some soy sauce over it.

3. Place grated ginger on it, and sprinkle diced spring onions over.

4. Top with bonito flakes.

5. Serve with a sweet Japanese doll smile.


Psst psst... * ok how to do you remove tofu from box in one perfect block?!
i. Slice away the top plastic cover
ii. Run the box under running tap water, at the same time, open up the 4 sides and let water run into box.
iii. Off tap. Turn the box upside down onto your palm and lift box away from tofu. Perfect.