How to Cook Appetizing Shira-ae (Mashed Tofu with Spinach and Konnyaku)

Shira-ae (Mashed Tofu with Spinach and Konnyaku). Tofu in Shira-ae is seasoned with sesame and soy sauce flavor, and it is a great side dish. Vegetable used in Shira-ae is usually sliced carrots, spinach, Konnyaku (a firm jelly-like food made from konnyaku potatoes), green beans, and sometimes persimmons. Vegetables are cooked and seasoned before mixing with Tofu.

The important point is to flavor the vegetables beforehand. The later steps use a food processor so they are easy. Shira-ae is a traditional Japanese side dish or salad made with creamy tofu paste (but no oil or cream is used!) and various vegetables. You can have Shira-ae (Mashed Tofu with Spinach and Konnyaku) using 14 ingredients and 7 steps. Here is how you cook it.

Ingredients of Shira-ae (Mashed Tofu with Spinach and Konnyaku)

1. Prepare 1 bunch of Spinach.
2. You need 1/2 of Carrot.
3. You need 1/2 of Konnyaku.
4. You need 1 bag of Enoki mushrooms.
5. You need 50 ml of * Mentsuyu (2x concentrate).
6. Prepare 50 ml of * Water.
7. You need of The tofu mixture:.
8. It's 1 of + Firm tofu.
9. You need 1 tbsp of + Miso.
10. It's 1 tbsp of + Sesame paste.
11. You need 1 tbsp of + Raw cane sugar.
12. You need 2 tsp of + Honey.
13. Prepare 2 pinch of + Salt.
14. You need 2 tbsp of or (to taste) + Ground sesame seeds.

The carrots here can be changed to green beans, spinach, shimeji mushrooms.etc. or a mix of them. TRADITIONAL JAPANESE RECIPE: Shira-ae is a vegetable side dish mixed with mashed Tofu. It is a little different from regular salad since there is no dressing like oil and vinegar. Shira-ae is served chilled, so in a sense it's like salad.

Shira-ae (Mashed Tofu with Spinach and Konnyaku) instructions

1. Blanch the spinach in plenty of boiling water until wilted, then drain and rinse in cold water to get rid of the bitterness. Drain the excess moisture from the tofu very well..
2. Cut the vegetables and konnyaku into bite size pieces and simmer in the combined * ingredients for about 3 minutes. Let cool in the cooking liquid to flavor the ingredients..
3. Put the tofu mixture ingredients into the food processor and pulse..
4. When it's smooth, it's done..
5. Cut up the cooked and tightly drained spinach from Step 1 into bite-sized lengths, drain the vegetables and konnyaku from Step 2 very well, and mix together with the tofu mix..
6. Taste, and if it needs more flavor, adjust by adding some of the remaining cooking liquid or adding sugar (I've kept the flavor light to let the the taste of the tofu shine through)..
7. Arrange in a bowl, sprinkle with ground sesame seeds, and it's done..

Shira-ae is hard to get in ordinary Japanese restaurants in the US, but this is a kind of food we grow up with. 'Shira-ae' is a type of 'Ae-mono', Japanese style salad, which is mixed with mashed Tofu. The most common 'Shira-ae' is probably Spinach 'Shira-ae', but a variety of Vegetables, Mushrooms and Konnyaku (Konjac) are used for this dish. I used Rockets because I have a lot of them in my veggie garden. Please use Spinach if you prefer. Shira ae Mashed Tofu Salad What is Shira Ae?