2 days ago
Cool to be square: A block of tofu with veggies to chill your summer
On days when temperatures and humidity soar, appetites and energy wane. That's when restorative hiya yakko comes to the rescue. In its simplest configuration, it's a block of chilled, silky tofu drizzled with soy sauce and topped with condiments.
Meaning 'cube shaped,' the term 'yakko' is derived from the white, square-shaped crest that adorned the sleeves of servants who attended to high-ranking samurai in the Edo Period (1603-1868). Blocks of tofu cut to resemble the crest became a popular dish among Edo (the former name of Tokyo) townspeople, and hiya (chilled) yakko remains a favorite hot-weather dish today throughout Japan.
My version of the dish, dashi yakko, includes a salsa-like topping made from fresh chopped myōga (Japanese ginger), cucumber, eggplant and blanched okra that is known as 'dashi' in Yamagata Prefecture (stock is referred to as dashi-jiru in the region).
The recipe's dashi mixture includes cucumber, eggplants and okra, which are all at their peak in summer. |
ELIZABETH ANDOH
The Japanese generally embrace foods with viscosity (think positive cling, not negative slime), and in this dish, vegetables such as okra encourage other minced morsels to bind with each other. The result is a mixture of crisp, succulent tidbits with a slightly slick mouthfeel.
For those who relish slippery textures, I recommend adding nagaimo, a mineral-rich yam that aids digestion and is thought to have a cooling effect on the metabolism. For those who wish to spice things up, adding green chilis such as shishitō tōgarashi is another option. In Yamagata, every household seems to have its own version of dashi; I encourage you to create your own using the basic recipe below as a point of departure.
Once assembled, the dashi yakko mixture will keep refrigerated for up to five days. Having a jar on hand will make it easy to pull together a main course salad for supper on a muggy summer evening. The veggie-herb mixture also garnishes cold noodles and is served with plain cooked rice. Other (eclectic) uses for dashi include wrapping some in lettuce leaves, stuffing tomatoes or bell pepper cups with it or folding it into an omelet.
Dashi yakko with fresh herb relish
1 block kinugoshi (silken) tofu (150 grams per portion; each block serves one)
Yamagata dashi mixture (makes about 3 cups, enough for 12 portions)
2 small Japanese eggplants, about 180 grams total
Salt, about 1¼ teaspoon total, used in preparing several of the vegetables
1 cucumber (about 120 grams)
140 grams nagaimo (5- to 7-centimeter segment)
1 teaspoon vinegar mixed into 2 cups water
3 okra pods (about 35 grams)
1 small knob fresh young ginger (about 50 grams)
1 bulb myōga
4 to 5 green shiso (perilla) leaves
1 tablespoon usukuchi (light-colored) shoyu
2 teaspoons mirin
Chill the blocks of tofu, each in its own serving dish, as you prepare the dashi mixture.
You'll be prepping each ingredient in a slightly different way before assembling them together in a bowl and lightly seasoning the mixture. To avoid unwanted metallic or plastic odors, it is best to mix everything in a glass bowl that can be covered and refrigerated until serving time.
Begin by preparing the eggplants. Trim away the stems and sepals but keep the dark skins intact. Dice the eggplants finely and place the bits in a glass bowl filled with salted water (1 teaspoon salt mixed into 2 cups tap water). To ensure that the bits stay submerged in the brine, press a piece of paper towel on the pieces to serve as a clinging lid. Allow the eggplant bits to soak for at least 30 minutes and up to several hours. The soaking liquid will turn brown.
After dicing and soaking the eggplants in water, gently squeeze them to remove their excess liquid. |
ELIZABETH ANDOH
Drain and rinse the soaked eggplant bits in fresh water, then gently squeeze them to remove excess liquid. Place these bits in whatever bowl or container that will hold the final mixture.
Next, prepare the cucumbers. Slice off the very top (the nonflowering end where it had been attached to the vine as it grew) and rub the cut edges against each other in a circular motion. The friction caused by this action draws out a pasty white foam that the Japanese call 'aku' (naturally occurring but astringent-tasting bitterness).
Rinse away the foam and slice the cucumbers lengthwise into strips. Cut across the strips to dice the cucumbers finely and place the pieces in a bowl. Toss them with ¼ teaspoon salt and let them sit for at least 5 minutes and up to 20 minutes. Lightly squeeze and drain off their excess moisture before adding them to the final bowl or container.
Wrap the segment of the nagaimo in a paper towel to expose one end and, using a vegetable peeler, peel away the exposed skin. The uncovered surface will become very slippery — holding it with the paper towel will make it safer to handle. Using a fresh piece of paper towel, grab the peeled end and remove the remaining portion of skin.
Wrap one end of the "nagaimo" (mountain yam) with a paper towel and peel away the exposed skin with a vegetable peeler. |
ELIZABETH ANDOH
Lay the paper towel on a cutting board, then slice and dice the nagaimo. Place the chopped yam in a bowl of vinegar water (1 teaspoon vinegar mixed into 2 cups water). This will prevent it from discoloring and minimize possible irritation from handling (some people feel an itching sensation after handling nagaimo). Let it soak for 10 minutes and drain.
Rub the okra pods with ¼ teaspoon salt to remove any fuzz and ensure the pods will be brightly colored after being blanched. Trim away the stems without cutting into the pods to limit stickiness. Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil, add the salted pods and blanch them for 1 minute after the water returns to a boil. Drain the okra and let them cool naturally — do not refresh under cold water. When the pods are cool enough to be handled comfortably (about 1 minute later), slice them thinly into (naturally star-shaped) rounds. Add the okra slices to the other prepped ingredients.
Peel the ginger and mince finely. Slice the myōga bulb in half lengthwise, then across into thin half-moon shreds. Add the ginger and myōga bits to the prepped vegetables.
Rinse and remove the stems of the shiso leaves, then stack and roll them tightly. Cut across the grain into thin shreds, then cut across to make shorter lengths.
Place all the ingredients in a glass bowl, stirring and tossing to distribute them well. Mix the usukuchi shoyu and mirin together and drizzle this mixture over the chopped vegetables and herbs, then toss well. Sticky items such as the okra will 'string' as you stir the mixture — this is fine as it will keep the various ingredients clinging together.
Mix the shoyu and mirin together and drizzle it over the vegetable and herb mixture before tossing well. |
ELIZABETH ANDOH
When ready to serve, spoon a generous amount of the mixture over blocks of well-chilled silken tofu. Serve with a spoon. Cover and refrigerate any remaining dashi mixture.
