by Karen Soo, Newsletter Editor
Shira-ae is a vegetable side dish mixed with mashed Tofu. It is a little different from regular salad since there is no dressing like oil and vinegar. Shira-ae is served chilled, so in a sense it’s like salad. Shira-ae is hard to get in ordinary Japanese restaurants in the US, but this is a kind of food you can make on you own.
People outside Japan might not have eaten Tofu in mashed form. They are usually cut into small cubes for Miso Soup or bigger square pieces for Nabe and so on. Here Tofu has no shape and works as more like a “dressing” that combines together with other ingredients rather than a main component of a dish. Tofu in Shira-ae is seasoned with sesame and soy sauce flavor, and it is a great side dish.
Vegetable used in Shira-ae is usually sliced carrots, spinach, Konnyaku (a firm jelly-like food made from konnyaku potatoes), green beans, and sometimes persimmons. Vegetables are cooked and seasoned before mixing with Tofu. This way the dish has a stronger flavor.
Konnyaku is a gelatinous food made from Konnyaku potatoes. It is usually sold in a block, but also in a pasta or thread like shape (Ito Konnyaku, also called Shirataki).
Konnyaku is often used in Nimono (boiled and seasoned vegetables). Konnyaku doesn’t have very much taste itself but absorbs flavors from seasonings. It also provides a nice texture, a little chewy or springy. It has a distinct smell, and you can boil it to lessen the smell before used in cooking.
Konnyaku is rich in fiber and low in calories. With little calories or fat, Konnyaku can be used as a substitute for starches when preparing low calorie dishes.
Bon Appetite – Julia Child and Karen Soo share the same birthday.
Serves 10
Ingredients
- 2 bunches of spinach
- 1 block tofu
- 2 blocks konnyaku, cut into matchsticks slices 1” long
- 1 carrot, cut into thin slices 1” long
- dash of salt
- 1 c dashi
- 3 tsp sugar
- 3 tsp soy sauce
- 2 Tb toasted sesame seeds
Sauce
- 2 Tb sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp mirin
- 2 tsp soy sauce
Directions
- Cook spinach. Drain. Rinse with cold water. Squeeze out excess water. Slice 1” long. Refrigerate.
2. Place tofu in clean cloth. Squeeze out liquid. Refrigerate.
3. Put carrots; ½ c dashi and dash of salt in saucepan. Cook until tender. Drain. Remove from saucepan and cool.
4. Put konnyaku, ½ c dashi, sugar and soy sauce in same sauce pan. Adjust to taste. Simmer until liquid is almost gone. Drain. Cool.
5. Grind sesame seeds in Suribachi. Add tofu and grind together.
6. Add sauce; mix well.
7. Add spinach, konnyaku and carrots. Mix well. Chill.
