Featured Comment:
“This recipe makes the most tasty agedashi tofu ever! I used to buy the premade agedashi tofu from Nijiya, but making it at home is much better. Thank you for this recipe, I wouldn’t change a thing!”
– S Yoshimi
What is Agedashi tofu?
Agedashi tofu (揚げ出し豆腐) is a popular dish served at both Japanese-style pubs and at home, where tofu is coated with flour or potato starch and deep-fried, then dipped in soy sauce-based broth.
It is a popular dish in Japanese restaurants in Japan and around the world.
How I Developed This Recipe
Recognizing Agedashi Tofu’s popularity as an appetizer, snack, and side dish, both in Japan and internationally, I focused on perfecting the batter and dashi in this recipe.
I aimed to level up these key components while maintaining the dish’s authentic Japanese style. I believe this approach has successfully achieved a crispy and crunchy texture.
Enjoy the experience of restaurant-quality Agedashi Tofu in the comfort of your home!
Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Firm Tofu (Momen Tofu): Ideal for its texture and ability to hold shape. Extra firm tofu can also be used. Silken or soft tofu is not recommended due to its delicacy and higher water content, which can be a problem when deep frying.
- Potato Starch or Cornstarch (Katakuriko): Used for its light and fine qualities, ideal for creating a light yet crispy batter. To add a unique texture, mix a small amount of water with potato starch to form small clumps, creating a “hailstone” effect on the tofu for extra crispiness.
- All-Purpose Flour: Mixed with potato starch for coating the tofu, it gives a thicker and more robust crust. This combination is preferred for a crispier, crunchier texture.
- Sauce Ingredients: Combine dashi stock, soy sauce, mirin, sake, salt, and a slurry made with water and starch for the sauce.
- Toppings: Finely chopped green onion, grated daikon, and Japanese chili powder (shichimi togarashi).
Use a vegetarian dashi stock to make this dish suitable for vegetarians! You can find my kombu and shiitake dashi recipe here.
Jump to Full Recipe Measurements
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Agedashi Tofu at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
If you prefer to watch the process in action, check out my YouTube video of this recipe for a complete visual walkthrough!
The first step is to remove the excess water from the tofu. Many people like to press it by placing something heavy on top, but this takes some time, so I opt for a shortcut here!
Simply wrap the tofu in kitchen paper, place it on a microwavable plate, and microwave it for 1 ½ at 600W. I always use this technique when I’m trying to save time (which is always!), and it works like a charm!
When making deep-fried tofu, many people are afraid of splashing oil when putting the tofu into the oil. While it’s true that it can splash, you can easily avoid it by draining water from tofu properly.
I recommend cutting the tofu into approximately 3cm cubes; they don’t need to be perfectly square. The picture above makes the tofu look square, but from the side, they’re more rectangular. They should be a little bigger than bitesize.
Once cut, dry the surface with kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt.
The first coat is a mixture of potato starch and flour (50/50 ratio), which helps absorb some excess moisture on the outside and builds the foundation for the crispy outer layer.
You will find that the starch and flour seem to disappear, and the outside might still seem a bit moist. That’s okay, because we need a little moisture for the next layer.
The final layer is made by mixing a very small amount of water with potato starch. This step causes clumps of potato starch to stick together, creating small crumbs or what I like to call “hailstones”.
Heat your oil before rolling the tofu in the hailstones, if you try to coat them in advance the hailstones tend to “melt” into the surface. Roll the tofu in the hailstones and put them straight into the pre-heated oil for best results.
For best results, place the tofu in the oil immediately after coating in the potato starch “hailstones”.
The oil should be preheated 170°C (340°F). Use a neutral flavored oil with a high smoke point, such as vegetable or canola.
Once you’ve coated the tofu in the “hailstones,” put them straight in the oil! (I know I keep repeating this, but it’s important!) Be careful of splashing; sometimes, the moisture in the tofu can react with the oil, making it splash out.
Tofu contains a lot of moisture and can react violently with hot oil. Never put unprepared tofu straight from the packet into hot oil, as it will splash. This can cause serious burns.
Deep fry for 3 minutes, turning each piece halfway through. They should be lightly golden. Once finished, place on a wire rack while you make the sauce.
Add the dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sake, and salt to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Allow it to bubble for 30 seconds.
Lower the heat, mix up a slurry in a separate bowl (I mix 1 tsp of potato starch with 1 tbsp of cold water), and pour it into the sauce. Mix continuously until the sauce is slightly thickened, and then remove from the heat.
Pile up the fried tofu in the serving bowl and pour the sauce over the top.
Optional toppings include chopped spring onions, grated daikon, and shichimi togarashi (Japanese chili pepper).
FAQ
In 1782, a book titled “Tofu Hyakuchin” (豆腐百珍) became a bestseller, and “agedashi tofu” was introduced in this book. This means that agedashi tofu has existed since at least the mid-Edo period (1603-1868). Some say it existed even before that, making it a dish with a surprisingly long history.
It is thought that the word “agedashi” originally meant “to deep-fry and serve,” and that it came to be used because it is simply deep-fried and served without any other modification. Another theory is that the name “agedashi” comes from the fact that deep frying (age) releases (dashi) water from the tofu, while some believe the name “agedashi” derives from the fact that the tofu is dipped in dashi stock.
In the past, tofu, eggplant, daikon radish, and different kinds of potatoes were fried without batter and called “agedashi.” These days, however, the term “agedashi” almost always refers to “agedashi tofu”.
The crispy outside of agedashi tofu is mostly created with one of two different ingredients: potato starch or flour. There is no right or wrong to use, depending on personal preference and the household. Using different starches or flours makes a difference in the oil drainage after frying and in the texture of the outside.
In this particular recipe, I decided to take the best of both worlds and use both flour and starch with a special trick to make it extra crispy. So stay tuned!
Generally speaking, tofu itself is vegan but most often dipping sauce isn’t as it contains fish essence. However, if you make dashi from vegan ingredients such as kombu or shiitake mushroom, it can easily be made vegan.
You can, but the difficulty will be a lot higher as silken tofu can easily crumble. I highly recommend using firm tofu for this.
Don’t worry if you don’t have a microwave! You can still remove excess water from tofu by wrapping it in paper towels and pressing it. Just wrap the tofu block in paper towels, place it on a plate, and put something heavy on top for about 30 minutes.
I typically use a weight similar to a heavy hardcover book – I place a plate or a container on the tofu first, then add a full salt or sugar container on top. You want enough weight to gently press the tofu down without crushing it. The pressure should be firm but gentle, just enough to help remove excess moisture.
Yes, that chewy texture is actually a characteristic of agedashi tofu, where the starch coating meets the sauce. But the desired texture for agedashi tofu should be slightly chewy but crispy at the same time!
Finding the right tofu for Agedashi tofu can be tricky. In Japan, we typically only have two main types: firm (momen) and silken (kinu), but I know many countries offer wider firmness levels. For this, you might want to start with one of the firm tofu varieties and gradually try softer ones as you get used to it.
I hope you enjoy this Agedashi Tofu recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Japanese Appetizer Recipes
- Chicken Tsukune (Japanese Glazed Meatballs)
- Stir-fried Edamame (with Garlic and Oyster Sauce Glaze)
- Pickled Cucumber with Ginger (Kyuri no Tsukemono)
- Potato Salad (Izakaya Style)
Want more inspiration? Explore my Appetizer Roundup Post for a carefully selected collection of tasty udon recipe ideas to spark your next meal!
Agedashi tofu (Japanese deep fried tofu) with Homemade Sauce
Equipment
- Japanese-style fryer
- Stainless steel cooking tray with wire rack
- Yukihira saucepan
Ingredients
- 300 g firm tofu momen tofu
- 4 tbsp potato starch (katakuriko) or corn starch
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp water cold
- 1 tbsp finely chopped green onions optional
- 1 tbsp grated daikon radish (daikon oroshi) optional
- 1 pinch Japanese chili powder (shichimi togarashi) shichimi togarashi, optional
Sauce
- 150 ml dashi stock use shiitake and kombu dashi for plant-based diets
- 1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tsp sake
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp water for slurry
- 1 tsp potato starch (katakuriko) for slurry
My recommended brands of ingredients and seasonings can be found in my Japanese pantry guide.
Can’t find certain Japanese ingredients? See my substitution guide here.
Instructions
- Open 300 g firm tofu, drain the water and wrap it in kitchen paper. Place on a microwavable plate and microwave for 1 ½ minutes at 600W.
- Unwrap the tofu and cut into approximately 12 pieces. (About 3cm cubes) Dry the surface of each piece with kitchen paper and sprinkle with 1 pinch salt.
- Preheat the oil to 170 °C (338 °F). Mix 2 tbsp all-purpose flour and half of the potato starch, roll each piece of tofu in the mixture until coated all over.
- In separate tray, add the other half the potato starch and mix with 1 tsp water to make "hailstones". Roll the tofu in the hailstones and place them directly into the preheated oil one by one.
- Fry the tofu for 3 mins, turning half way. Once 3 minutes are up and the tofu is golden, transfer to a wire rack to allow the excess oil to drain off.
- Take a small saucepan and add 150 ml dashi stock, 1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu), 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tsp sake and ¼ tsp salt. Mix and heat on medium, bring to a boil and allow to bubble for 30 seconds. Lower the heat and make slurry in a separate bowl, pour the slurry into the sauce and stir continuously over the low heat until slightly thickened.
- Place the tofu in the serving bowl and drizzle with the sauce. Top with 1 tbsp finely chopped green onions, 1 tbsp grated daikon radish (daikon oroshi) and 1 pinch Japanese chili powder (shichimi togarashi) (optional).
- Enjoy!
This recipe makes the most tasty agedashi tofu ever! I used to buy the premade agedashi tofu from Nijiya, but making it at home is much better. Thank you for this recipe, I wouldn’t change a thing!
Thank you for trying the recipe and giving such kind feedback, glad you liked it!
Made this for my girlfriend while testing the app. She loved it!!
Hi Philip,
Thank you so much! I’m glad hear she enjoyed it!
Yuto
Best part? No stinkin’ advert bar across the page. Thank you. Now, I’ll try the recipe…
when you say “put something heavy on the tofu”, what range are you using?
Hi Trish,
Thank you for asking! I typically use a weight similar to a heavy hardcover book – I place a plate or a container on the tofu first, then add a full salt or sugar container on top. You want enough weight to gently press the tofu down without crushing it. The pressure should be firm but gentle, just enough to help remove excess moisture. I hope this helps!
Yuto
I just made this and it was delicious!
Hi Cathy,
Thank you so much for making it and sharing your photo! It looks incredible!! It means a lot that you took the time to try it out and share your experience. 🙂
Yuto