Hiyayakko (冷奴) is a cold tofu salad with some toppings and soy sauce or ponzu. It is fresh and cold, and perfect for hot summer. Hiyayakko can be a great side dish or an appetizer to go with any Japanese meal throughout the year.
What kind of Tofu is used for Hiyayakko?
Silken (kinugoshi tofu) or soft tofu is the best kind of tofu for Hiyayakko. Soft, smooth, and delicate texture of tofu will melt in your mouth. However, it is totally up to you. If you like harder and heartier tofu, use medium or hard tofu.
If you live in Japan, you can buy tofu from supermarkets, but also from tofu shops in almost any town where they make fresh hand-made tofu daily. Fresh tofu has a stronger soy bean flavor than packaged tofu you can buy in the US, and it almost doesn’t need any more flavoring. When you eat uncooked tofu like Hiyayakko, you want to have that kind of quality tofu. However, it is almost impossible to get outside Japan unfortunately.
Even though the tofu we can buy here is not as great as hand-made tofu, we can prepare it in a way that tastes delicious!
Hiyayakko Toppings
- Chopped green onions
- Grated fresh ginger root
- Katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
- Soy sauce or Ponzu
For more variations of Hiyayakko, check out Hiyayakko (Cold Tofu Salad) 3 Ways.
Short Video
A full recipe video is also available in the recipe box below and on our YouTube channel.
Hiyayakko (cold tofu salad) Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 green onions
- ginger root (about 2″)
- 400 g Tofu
- Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)
- soy sauce (or optionally Ponzu Sauce)
Instructions
- Slice green onions very thinly. Grate ginger.
- Wash tofu under softly running water. Cut into 4 pieces.
- Place a piece of tofu on a dish and top with some of the green onions, grated ginger, and Katsuobushi.
- Pour some soy sauce or Ponzu Sauce on top.
Video
