Sesame Tofu (Goma Dofu)

Have you heard of sesame tofu ? What? Tofu is usually made by firming up soy milk with bittern which is made from sea water, right? Yes, if you just say tofu, that is a white bean curd but sesame tofu is not technically tofu at all. In Japan, there are some foods that are not made from soy beans but called tofu like “Egg Tofu” that are solidified by egg and “Sesame Tofu” that is the one I am showing the recipe for here. If you are not a huge fan of tofu, I really recommend this sesame tofu because they are totally different!

What is Sesame Tofu?

Sesame tofu is one of the typical dishes of Zen cooking (Biddhist Vegetarian Cooking), so it was originally made in Japanese temples by monks for themselves to get protein because they were not allowed to eat meat at that time. Sesame seeds were good source of protein for them. In temples, they grind sesame seeds with pestle and mortar until the seeds become paste and mix with broth and arrowroot powder, then heat the mixture to thicken like jelly. But I use potato starch instead of arrowroot powder to gelatinize the mixture in this recipe cause it make the tofu last longer and even less expensive! Sesame tofu made from potato starch is creamy, rich and thick in texture. And I use tahini giving up grinding sesame seeds to make paste. the tofu is usually eaten with soy sauce and wasabi or sweet miso sauce.

Ingredients You Will Need

Tahini – This is the best time saver to make sesame tofu. Tahini is usually made of white sesame but black sesame flavour is also popular in Japan.

Potato starch – To firm the mixture up, this is the best alternative to arrowroot powder.

Vegetable broth – In Japan, we use “dashi” which is shiitake mushroom and kelp, but they are not easily available outside Japan, so I thought using vegetable broth in place of dashi was great and the result was perfect!

Soy milk – This is optional, but soy milk adds more protein to sesame tofu. If you don’t want to use it, just double the amount of vegetable broth.

Salt – You need some salt to make the tofu less bland even though you eat it with sauce.

Sugar – To cut the bitterness of sesame seeds, adding a bit of sugar is important.

For the sauce

Soy sauce and Miso – They are full of umami. You can use any brand of your liking.

Salt and Sugar – This sauce is a bit sweet side but still needs some salt to balance it out.

Sesame oil – This is optional, but the oil adds a nutty flavour to the sauce.

Wasabi (optional) – We, Japanese people eat sesame tofu with a tiny bit of wasabi.

Tips for Making Sesame Tofu

Heat the mixture well with low heat

You need to heat the sesame mixture well but also need to heat it gently otherwise it will end up with a clumpy mess! Stir constantly and scrape the bottom of the pan until you get a mixture that looks like thick custard.

Keep stiring and scraping the bottom of your pan

The mixture tends to stick to the bottom of your pan, so it is very important to keep stirring and scraping during heating.

Chill in the fridge until it is fully set

Please be patient until the tofu fully sets. If your sesame tofu stays loose and doesn’t set after chilling for 1 hour or so, you probably haven’t heated the mixture enough.

Q & A

How can I store Sesame Tofu?

Wrap it with cling film or put it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge.

How long does Sesame Tofu last in the fridge?

Sesame Tofu lasts at least 2 to 3 days in the fridge.

More Zen Recipes

Vegan Agedashi Tofu (揚げ出し豆腐)

Mashed Tofu Salad (Shiraae)

Vegan Deep Fried Tofu with Sweet Miso Sauce and Peanuts (Miso Peanut Karaage)

Deep Fried Tofu Balls (Ganmodoki)