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How to Make Home-Style Japanese Tofu

Home-style Japanese tofu features a golden, crispy crust enveloping the delicate interior of the tofu. A quick three-minute stir-fry makes it the star of the table, delivering a crunchy, tender, savory, and aromatic flavor that delights the taste buds.

Estimated Cooking Difficulty: ★★★

Essential Ingredients and Tools

  • Japanese tofu (egg tofu)
  • Green bell pepper
  • Carrot
  • Ham sausage (optional)
  • Dried black fungus (optional)
  • Onion (optional)
  • Cornstarch
  • Garlic
  • Oil (for frying the tofu; enough to submerge most of it)
  • Light soy sauce 8 ml
  • Oyster sauce 15 ml
  • Salt (for savory flavor)
  • Chicken bouillon powder (for savory flavor, optional)
  • Ketchup (for sweet and sour flavor)
  • White sugar (for sweet and sour flavor)

Quantities

Determine how many servings you plan to make before each preparation. One serving is sufficient for 2 people.

Per serving:

  • Japanese tofu 300 g (approximately 3 pieces)
  • Green bell pepper 120 g (1 medium-sized piece)
  • Carrot 50 g
  • Ham sausage 50 g (approximately 1 stick)
  • Dried black fungus 30 g (approximately 10 g of dried fungus when soaked)
  • Cornstarch 80 g
  • Onion 30 g
  • Garlic 10 g (approximately 2 cloves)
  • Oil 160-165 ml
  • Light soy sauce 8 ml
  • Oyster sauce 15 ml
  • Salt 2 g (if adding chicken bouillon powder, use only 0.5 g or omit)
  • Chicken bouillon powder 3 g
  • White sugar 10 g
  • Ketchup 15 ml

Instructions

  • Slice the carrot, cut the green bell pepper into thin pieces, and mince the green onion and garlic.
  • Open the package of Japanese tofu and slice it into cylinders approximately 1 cm thick.
  • Place the cornstarch on a flat plate, ready for coating the tofu.
  • Gently place the tofu pieces onto the cornstarch, coating the top, bottom, and sides. Be careful not to coat them too thickly.
  • Heat 150 ml of oil in a skillet. The oil should be enough to submerge most of the tofu. Fry until the edges turn golden brown, then flip to cook the other side.
  • Once both sides are fried, remove the tofu and set aside on a clean plate.
  • Pour 10-15 ml of oil into a wok, add the green onion and garlic, and stir-fry until fragrant. Then add the green bell pepper, carrot, ham sausage, and black fungus.
  • Add oyster sauce, light soy sauce, salt, chicken bouillon powder, white sugar, and ketchup.
  • Stir-fry gently until the colors are evenly distributed.

Additional Notes

If you encounter any issues or have suggestions for improvement while following this guide, please submit an Issue or Pull Request.