Hiyayakko is a cold tofu salad with some toppings and soy sauce. It is fresh and cold, and perfect for hot summer.
If you live in Japan, you can buy tofu from supermarkets, but also from tofu shops in almost any town (is that still true?.. I hope) 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. We add green onions, ginger, and Katsuobushi to tofu along with soy sauce. These are all spicy and strong condiments and seasoning, and that makes this tofu dish tasty.
It is amazing actually to be able to find how many kinds of tofu are available at American supermarkets. Because Hiyayakko is uncooked tofu, it should be a softer kind for better texture in your mouth. Soft tofu is usually marked as “soft” or “silken (Kinugoshi).” However, it is totally up to you. If you like harder and heartier tofu, use medium or hard tofu.
The sauce for Hiyayakko typically use simple soy sauce. However, you can use tangy Ponzu Sauce instead, if you prefer. And we have an easy recipe for that too!
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
