Mashed Tofu Salad (Shiraae)
Siraae (Mushed tofu salad) is one of the most traditional salads in Japan. The simmered vegetable with creamy sweet mushed tofu is the perfect side dish for your Japanese-themed dinner!
Equipment
- 1 Pot or Saucepan
- 1 bowl
- 1 Colander or Sieve
Ingredients
For the Simmered Vegetables
- 50 g Carrot
- 2-3 Shiitake Mushrooms The spent mushrooms you used for Dashi
- 100 g Edamame You can use spinach as well
- 400 ml Vegan Dashi Stock (The recipe is below) You can use store bought dashi
- 3 tbsp Soy Sauce If you use store bought dashi, 1 tbsp
- 3 tbsp Mirin You can use 3tbsp of Sake + 3 tsp of Sugar
- 1 tbsp Sugar
For the Mushed Tofu
- 250 g Firm tofu or Medium firm tofu (pressed) 300g firm tofu will be 250g after pressing
- 30 g Miso If you use Shiro miso, use 40g
- 20 g Sugar
- 25 g Tahini
- 1 tsp Soy Sauce
- ¼ tsp Salt
Instructions
For the Simmered Vegetables
- Chop the vegetables into bite size sticks like in the photo below. Please make sure to cut off the tough stems.
- In a pot, put the vegetables, dashi stock, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar, then turn the heat on to high heat. Once it boils, turn the heat to low and simmer it for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn the heat off and let it cool for about 15 minutes.
For the Mushed Tofu
- If you use firm tofu or extra firm tofu, you can skip this process. 300g of medium firm tofu will become 250g after pressing. Wrap it with a clean tea towel or a piece of kitchen towel and place it on a tray or a plate. Put something heavy such as a saucepan and weigh it down more with cans or jars. Leave it for about 1 hour to press the excess water out.
- Put the pressed tofu in a bowl and mash it with a fork or potato masher. Add your miso, sugar, tahini, soy sauce, and salt to the mashed tofu and mix well.
- Drain the vegetables with a colander or a sieve and add them to the mashed tofu, and stir to coat every piece of vegetables with tofu.
- Sprinkle some sesame after plating if you like. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can store your shiraae in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- Shiraae can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
- You can use other vegetables such as spinach, asparagus, cucumber, squash, and any mushrooms.