Sesame Fried Tofu

At Waterstreet Coffee Joint in Kalamazoo (where I worked for a short time, and hung out for like, most of undergrad), they have this delicious tofu dish - it's marinated in sesame oil, then breaded and fried with sesame seeds. I've tried to recreate this dish a couple times. I think we're getting pretty close.

First, we marinated the tofu in sesame oil and soy sauce for several hours.

The first change to the recipe next time is definitely gonna be: less soy sauce, more sesame oil. We're going for a subtle flavor on this, and this batch was definitely too salty. Also, great tip: after you're done marinating the tofu, just run the marinade through a strainer (to get any chunks of tofu out) and it's still great as a dumpling dipping sauce! Sesame oil is way too expensive to just waste, so definitely repurpose wherever possible 

Next we tried a few different mixes for the breading. Some were flour-based, some were corn starch based. Some had cornmeal, some had brown sugar. They all had sesame seeds.

The ones with the brown sugar gave a much crunchier consistency because the sugar caramelized when it hit the oil, but the sweet flavor definitely helped balance out the soy sauce in the marinade. The corn meal breading was too grainy for tofu. Again, tofu has a subtle texture. I found that the cornmeal overpowered that. From what I tasted, I'm gonna say that the Waterstreet tofu definitely has some brown sugar in the breading, but not as much as we used. It was probably also a cornstarch based breading, rather than flour.

The frying oil was olive oil with a dash of sesame oil. I think canola could work just as well for the base. But you definitely need that sesame flavor either way.

The pan got awfully full of sesame seeds as we went along.

There was one crucial step we skipped: a second layer to the breading. The Waterstreet tofu cubes have a breading that pulls away from the tofu, like a skin. Ours didn't do that. This means they probably used an egg wash (or an egg-substitute, as I'm fairly certain it's a vegan dish - can anyone verify that?) and then a second layer of breading. So we definitely need to do that next time. It will likely change the consistency, as well.

At the grocery store, I wanted to get medium tofu, but Brandon insisted on hard, and in the end he was proven correct. The consistency of the final product was perfect. Oddly enough, this is a dish I prefer cold. Hot off the grill they're just too strong. But the tofu firms up in the refrigerator, and the sesame flavor really comes out when you eat it that way. It also helped to calm the saltiness of the soy sauce, but we plan to fix that next time. 

It went perfectly with some tamago furikake (egg-flavored rice seasoning) on sticky rice!

(Also, I baked Brandon a strawberry rhubarb pie this week.)

Bye!