Now that school has started any i've recovered from my cold, I've finally had a chance to update my Tokyo Grocery guide. I've added how to shop for Tofu and a popular recipe for cooking Tofu. This tofu is cooked in broth so you don't need to drain it. It's easy and all you need is about 15 minutes to cook so I hope you all give it a try. The better quality beef you use, the better it will taste (well obviously) but if make sure you don't overcook the meat as it may become too tough. You can also make it with pork.

Happy Cooking!

Nikudofu (Braised Tofu and Meat) 

 Ingredients (For 2- 3 servings)

• Tofu (Firm)                          1 block (about 300 - 350g)
  
• Slice Beef                            200g
  
• Onion                                  1            
  
• Mirin (Sweet rice wine)    3 Tbsp
  
• Soy sauce                           3 Tbsp
• Sugar                                 1.5 Tbsp
• Dashi (Soup Stock)          450 ml
  
• Sake (Rice wine)                3 Tbsp
  
• Spring Onions                   2-3
  

1.      Cut the tofu into 6-8 pieces. Cut the Onion into 6 wedges. Cut the Beef in 1 inch strips. Chop the spring onions.

2.      Mix the dashi, mirin, soy sauce, sugar and sake in a medium size pot, and add the tofu and bring to boil on medium heat. Once it starts to boil, add the onions and place a drop lid on it. Simmer for 6 -7 minutes.

3.      Take off the lid, Move the tofu to one side and add the beef and loosen it with your chopstick so it doesn’t stick together.

4.      Cook for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a serving bowl, Garnish with Spring Onions.

To brush up my wagashi skills, I attended a nirikiri class to learn 3 types of nerikiri. Nerikiri is a dough made with white bean paste and rice powder. With the dough we wrap the bean paste and shape them into various figures that represent the season. In this class we made a chrysanthemum flower and a mountain resembling the changing leaf color with a  small dragonfly. The brown color nirikiri is made with cocoa powder symbolizing a stone pavement with a falling leaf. Wagashi of the season will be served as dessert for my cooking class.

 Also, if you are interested to learn wagashi, look out for my Wagashi taster session in October.