Ah, tofu! I’ve been dreaming about it for ages. And this time I had it on my plate rather than in my miso soup, delicious fried tofu with ponzu sauce. But before I had it on my plate, I devoured it with my eyes, in a Japanese manga.

Imagine a rural scene. Green hills, rice fields, and, in the distance, a village with traditional wooden houses. Small and narrow streets and, at the corner of one of them, a street vendor.

An old lady standing behind her stall with a benevolent look on her face. With a smile on her face, she calls out to passers-by, praising the merits of her fresh morning tofu. It looks soft, silky, bright white. I always thought I’d get that soft feeling in my mouth again.

Even if the taste of tofu is rather discreet, its texture is silky. So full of promise that I can’t stop looking for THE recipe that will reveal all its splendour.

Today’s recipe is fried tofu with panko. Panko is the Japanese equal of breadcrumbs. It’s particularity is it absorb less oil when it’s fried. Don’t worry, it’s not very different from what we already know in our countries, but it’s exotic. Thanks to Fred Chesneau for the inspiration, this recipe is perfect!

Tofu, panko or, home-made breadcrumbs. Soy sauce and ponzu to bring out all the flavours, spring onions or chives and that’s it. A dose of adventure and a magnificent journey to the land of the rising sun.

See for yourself, by trying the recipe. Enjoy your meal!

Fried tofu with ponzu sauce

6 people – Difficulty: medium
Preparation 15 min – Cooking 20 min

• 500 g of semi-firm tofu
• 1/4 daikon
• 2 eggs
• 100 g of flour
• 100 g of Japanese breadcrumbs (panko)
• 1 tbsp wasabi
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 4 sprigs of spring onion
• 1/4 bunch of coriander
• 50 cl of sunflower oil
• Ponzu sauce

Start by grating the daikon, chopping the coriander and mincing the spring onion. Then cut the tofu into cubes and place them on kitchen paper. Then put the flour in one bowl, the lightly beaten eggs in another and the breadcrumbs in a third.

Then roll the tofu cubes in the different bowls: first in the flour, then in the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs. Heat Roll the tofu cubes in the different bowls: first in the flour, then in the egg, and finally in the breadcrumbs. Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan. Fry the tofu cubes on high heat until golden brown on all sides (about 5 minutes).

Drain on paper towels. Divide the ponzu sauce between bowls and place 1 cube of fried tofu in the centre. Sprinkle the top with a dab of grated daikon, wasabi, ginger, spring onion and coriander. Enjoy.