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Goma Dofu (Sesame Tofu)

Source of Recipe

Brenda-Lee Olson


Recipe Introduction

Original recipe from JustHungry.com

List of Ingredients

* 50 g (1.75 oz) kudzu powder
* 500ml (2 cups plus a tablespoon) water, filtered water preferred
* 70g (2.5 oz) tahini or nerigoma that has been stirred very well



Recipe

Equipment needed: bowl, pan, square container to mold the goma dofu

Combine the kudzu powder with a little water to make a paste. Add the rest of the water and mix well.

Put into a pan over medium heat, and add the tahini or nerigoma.

Mix continuously, smooshing any lumps of sesame paste and incorporating it as well as possible into the liquid.

When it heats up it will start to thicken and get a bit lumpy - keep stirring to smooth out the lumps.

After a while, it will turn from milky to a bit more translucent in color and have the consistency of a thick pudding.

Wet the inside of the square container you’ll use as the mold.

Pour in the hot pudding-like mixture and smooth out the top.

Bang the container a few times onto a countertop or table to get rid of bubbles.

Let cool to room temperature, and then put into the refrigerator to cool, about 2 hours.

Unmold and cut into squares.

Serve chilled, with wasabi or grated fresh ginger and soy sauce. (The goma dofu on its own is quite bland, so it does need the sauce.)

Makes 12 to 16 squares.

Author's Notes:

This is really nice as a cold appetizer on a warm day. It can be stored, well covered, in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

If you want to grind your own sesame seeds

Use hulled white sesame seeds, toast lightly in a dry pan, and grind for about an hour or so in a suribachi [2] for about an hour until totally smoooooooth. Character improving, indeed. Strain through a fine sieve before using.

Incidentally, the term goma o suru (grind sesame seeds) is a euphenism for sucking up to (or brown-nosing) someone.

Variation with peanut butter

Use smooth unsweetened (and preferably unsalted) peanut butter in place of the sesame paste for a peanut tofu.