Is there a relation between fried tofu and God?
Deep-fried tofu is made by removing the water from the tofu and fried.The history of being able to eat fried tofu is interesting. It has something to do with God.
There is a story that fried tofu was made by a monk
There is a story that the fried tofu was made by a priest to resemble meat. The Buddhist priest has a rule that he should not eat animal products and foods with strong odors, and It is said that it was a substitute for meat.
At first, it was a substitute for meat, but it has the characteristic of being easy to absorb juice, and it has come to be used for sushi, miso soup, and so on.
There is a connection between God and fried tofu
There is a shrine called Inari jinjya in Japan, and there is a statue of a fox at the entrance. Inari jinjya was originally a god of grain fertility, and was used by the god to get rid of the rats that devastated the fields. (The fox eats a mouse)
Originally, they offered mice, but as time goes by, there is a theory that they put rice in fried tofu instead of living things to make them look like mice.
There is a menu at soba and udon shops
At udon and soba restaurants, there is a menu called “kitsune” (kitsune means fox in japanese). This comes from Inari, which likes fried tofu as explained above. *It is not a dish using real fox.
There is also Tanuki (raccoon) soba instead of Kitsune. Fried dough called “Tenkasu” is on top. Of course, it is not a dish using raccoon!
Rerated article: Deep fried dough is no waste, economical ingredients!
Thick fried tofu
There is also a food called thick fried tofu (called Atsuage in japanese). Atsuage has the texture of tofu. Therefore, there is an area where fried tofu is called thin fried tofu.
When using fried tofu, you should drain the oil
When using fried tofu, it is easier for the taste to soak in if you remove the oil. However, although oil removal was originally intended to eliminate odors, it is not always necessary to remove oil in modern times.
Draining oil from fried tofu is easy, just pour boiling water over the fried tofu. Put the fried tofu in a colander and pour boiling water over it.
If you cut fried tofu and then drain the oil, excess water may soak in and the taste may deteriorate.
Fried tofu is an accent to cooking!
Fried tofu is soaked in flavor that it is an accent to cooking. It can be used for various things such as simmered dishes or miso soup.
Click here for recipes using fried tofu.
(The image is Kyoto-style, basic Okara(Simmerd Tofu pulp with vegetable))
