Takiawase Recipe (Simmered deep fried tofu and vegetables)

Atsuage no takiawase（厚揚げの炊き合わせ）

What the kind of dish is Atsuage no takiawase??

atsuage = thick fried tofu

“Takiawase” is a dish in which several ingredients are simmered together, seasoned with soy sauce, and arranged neatly in a bowl. It is a traditional Japanese cooking method, and various ingredients can be substituted.

Seasonal vegetables are used to create dishes with a seasonal feel.

Vegetables used in Takiawase

• Spring: bamboo shoots, rape blossoms, butterbur, potatoes
• Summer: winter melon, pumpkin, eggplant, okra
• Autumn: mushrooms, taro, sweet potato
• Winter: daikon radish, spinach, lotus root

These vegetables are simmered with your favorite ingredients such as fried tofu, frozen tofu, chicken, and tofu, and then served on a plate.

The delicious ingredients that seep out from the ingredients mix together and permeate each ingredient.

The usual way to make this is to arrange the ingredients in a deep, flat-bottomed pot, add water, and heat it.

The key is to add seasonings once the vegetables have softened. If you add seasonings too early, the vegetables will be only half-cooked.

When using soy sauce, if you only use dark soy sauce, the ingredients will turn brown, and if you only use light soy sauce, the flavor will be weak. Therefore, mix the two.

For ingredients that you want to keep their beautiful green color, such as green beans, add them just before turning off the heat.

In this recipe, atsuage(deep-fried tofu), potatoes, shiitake mushrooms, and carrots were simmered in a pressure cooker.

If you are using a pressure cooker, it is fine to add the seasonings at the same time as the ingredients.

I use a pressure cooker for simmered potatoes to shorten the cooking time and prevent them from losing their shape.

(Pumpkin melts when pressure is applied, so it is better to use a regular pot instead of a pressure cooker. Also, sausages are not suitable for cooking in a pressure cooker because their skins will pop when pressure is applied. It is said that atsuage(deep-fried tofu) and chikuwa(fish cake) should not be used in a pressure cooker, but this time, perhaps because the pressure time was short at 1 minute, I was able to cook them without any problems.)

How to decide the amount of seasoning to use when making nimono

The key to seasoning nimono(simmered dish) is to keep the salt concentration at 1% to 1.2% of the total weight of the food.

1g of soy sauce contains 0.16g of salt, so you will need about 6g to 8g of soy sauce for every 100g of ingredients.

It is said that potatoes and atsuage(deep-fried tofu) should not be frozen, but they were surprisingly delicious even after freezing.The potato variety called “Yokunetaimo” is sweet and delicious ♡

Check out this article about atsuage.　👉　Deep fried tofu (atsuage) with ponzu

NUTRITION FACTS of Takiawase Recipe (Simmered deep fried tofu and vegetables)

• 159kcal
• Protein 8.2g
• Fat 6.7g
• Carb 16.5g
• Salt Equivalent 1.2g

INGREDIENTS for Takiawase Recipe (Simmered deep fried tofu and vegetables) (６SERVINGS)

• Atsuage(Thick fried tofu) 350g
• Carrots 70g
• 3 Potatoes 270g
• 6 Shiitake mushrooms 100g
• 6 Green beans 50g
• ☆Dark soy sauce 20g
• ☆Light soy sauce 30g
• ☆Sake 20g
• ☆Sugar 20g
• ☆Mirin 20g
• ☆Water 200g

Takiawase Recipe (Simmered deep fried tofu and vegetables) COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Soak the thick fried tofu in boiling water for 1 minute to remove the oil. This will help the flavors soak in more easily.
2. Wash and peel the carrots and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
3. Peel the potatoes and cut them in half. If they are too large, cut them into quarters.
4. Make cuts in the shiitake mushrooms. You can skip this step.
5. Wash the green beans and cut off both ends. Then cut them into 5cm lengths.
6. Put all the ingredients except the green beans in a pressure cooker.
7. Place over medium heat, and when the pressure cooker starts to release steam, wait about a minute and turn off the heat.
8. Once the pressure has released naturally, add the green beans, turn the heat on, and simmer until only a little broth remains.
9. Allow to cool, and warm when ready to eat.

By cooling it once, the flavors will blend into the ingredients.

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