5 Ways to Top Tofu

Chilled tofu salad is a popular summer dish in Japan. Hiya-yakko traditionally is topped with soy sauce and ginger paste, green onions and bonito flakes. But that's not the only Yakko option. In Tofu and Beans Recipe 176, there are 10 more ideas for topping your tofu.

Some of them are unspeakable (squid guts with citrus peel - yuck!) but here are five that will make a delicious light meal on a hot night. Each of these recipes serves two people as a side dish or light main.

Anchovy-Yakko
200 g silken tofu
2 anchovy fillets
1/2 clove garlic, sliced
1 tsp olive oil
1 sprig parsley

Cut the tofu in half. Mince the anchovies and place on top of tofu block. Fry the garlic slices in olive oil. Arrange on top of anchovies. Garnish with parsley.

Unagi-Yakko
200 g silken tofu
30 g grilled unagi (eel)
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp pickled sansho (sichuan pepper)

Cut the tofu in half. Slice the unagi into 1 cm pieces. Heat the oil and lightly fry the unagi and sansho. Server on top of tofu.

Rakumi-Yakko
200 g silken tofu
1 bulb myoga (young ginger)
1 leaf aojiso
1 umeboshi (pickled plum)
bonito flakes

Cut the tofu in half. Finely slice the myoga and aojiso, allow to rest in a bowl of salted water. Pick the plum into small bits. Drain the herbs, mix with the plum and spoon onto the tofu. Garnish with bonito flakes.

Octopus & Kimchi-Yakko
200 g silken tofu
30 g boiled octopus legs
30 g kimchi
sesame oil
soy sauce
sesame seeds

Cut the tofu in half. Cut the octopus and kimchi into bite-sized pieces. Sautee briefly in a little bit of sesame oil. Season with soy sauce. Spoon onto tofu and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bleu Cheese-Yakko
200 g silken tofu
20 g bleu cheese
1 stem chives or green onion
bonito flakes

Cut the tofu in half. Crumble the bleu cheese. Finely slice the chives. Top the tofu with the cheese and chives and sprinkle with bonito flakes.