Broiled Tofu With Miso (Tofu Dengaku)

This is probably the tastiest thing you can do with squares of tofu. The miso sauce was delicious--I used sweet mirin sake since it was what I had on hand, and the additional sweetness was a nice touch. In the future, I would try cutting the tofu block into three slices to create narrower squares for a higher proportion of crust and topping to unflavored interior.

• sitagaki

• 6/24/2015

The miso sauce was out of this world! I used genmai Miso, which I assumed (because my health food store carries just shiro and genmai varieties of miso from a brand Amano Miso) at first was the red miso this recipe suggests, but found out it's apparently brown rice miso. I used a tofu that has herbs dispersed in it, golden cane sugar, and brown rice vinegar instead of sake. Also, I used "sesame salt" made from mixed black and white toasted sesame seeds (from a recipe for quail eggs on this site... it's not salty at all). I think I would have preferred it if the tofu was broiled on all sides and covered in sauce (possible to do with the given amounts since there was a good bit of sauce left over even though I was generous with it). My miso was quite thick even with added water, so it didn't look quite like in the picture, but it was delicious. Tasted one and packing a few for a snack tomorrow.

• BlueMona

• 9/23/2012

Instead of cubes, I cut the tofu into steaks and served this as a main dish. I knew the miso topping would be way too salty following the recipe exactly, so I added two extra tablespoons of shoju (which I used instead of sake because that's what I had on hand) and a tablespoon of brown sugar. I also added several tablespoons of water, which helped smooth out the texture before it reduced away. I ended up with twice as much miso topping than I needed, but the tofu steaks were terrific -- nice firm exteriors encasing luscious interiors and the caramelized miso providing a good pop of salt and umami.

• trisch

• Chengdu, China

• 6/27/2012

I found this dish quite strange. It was too thick for my liking, so the ones that I put less on were best, and the ones that were darker were better. But I couldn't quite get the paste super smooth and thought that that caused a bizarre mouth-feel. I think the idea of glazing tofu is cool, but next time would try a different version of the glaze.

• watercress

• Studio City, CA

• 8/9/2010

For those who have found this recipe too salty for their taste, I have used a similar glaze to top uncooked silken tofu (substituted red barley miso) with very good results. The higher water content of the silken tofu seems to temper the saltiness. Alternately, you could add some dashi stock as well.

• coffeeboss

• new york

• 6/5/2010

I haven't tried this yet, but dark red miso (a.k.a. akamiso)is very strong and salty while white miso (a.k.a. shiro miso) is much lighter - I suspect the reason this comes across too salty is the type of miso the reicpe calls for.

• Bbreyer

• 4/29/2010

The miso glaze was far too salty. I wish I knew some way to balance it out. I won't be making this recipe again.

• VeronicaLH

• 4/9/2010

VERY SALTY. i tasted the glaze before putting it on the tofu and it was like licking a cube of bouillon. i ended up adding a few cups of water and just making miso soup instead.

• Anonymous

• 2/11/2010

You REALLY need to make sure your miso isn't too salty when you make this. I thought the glaze tasted alright before putting it on, but after it reduced in the broiling process, the glaze was so salty I had to scrape it off the tofu. Perhaps this recipe could work if I tried it again, but I'm not convinced it would be worth the effort.

• miabrahams

• 2/8/2010

I'm surprised so many of you disliked the appearance of these. I thought they were interesting and attractive, as Japanese food usually is. I did not use the skewers, added a bit more sugar because my miso was very salty, used dry sherry as I had no sake and used organic tofu, which really had a nice clean flavor. Served as a main course with stir fry veggies, sushi rice, and the leftover miso sauce.

• Anonymous

• Sherborn, MA

• 12/9/2009

A simnple and interesting "amuse- bouche" that my guests loved.

• gsaye506

• Atlanta area

• 10/11/2009

To mairzi from Holyoke, MA, you shouldn't comment on something you have no knowlege of the taste. I've learned to try everthing once at an early age. If you like the ingredients you might love the dish. Don't limit your self to looks of food, you could be missing out on some wonderful dishes. Okay the presentation is bad, but it's the ingredients that you should look at and use your creative side to redesign the presentation and post it.

• rentwest

• Los Angeles

• 6/10/2009

This was excellent and easy - everyone at the dinner party thought it was a fabulous app! My local asian grocery didn't have dark miso, so I used a lighter one, and it worked with the recipe. I also cut my tofu blocks smaller because I wanted them more bit size. I will definitely be using this again!

• anubananu

• South Windsor, CT

• 6/7/2009

I was in Japan last year and had this or something similar in Gifu. It was gorgeous. Of course, the tofu there is wonderful. I am trying it tonight and if it comes close to that meal I will go out of my way to get artisanal tofu available in the LA area. I'll let you know how it compares.

• Anonymous

• Los Angeles, CA

• 6/4/2009

I loved the concept of this recipe, and it turned out pretty well for my first time broiling tofu and working with miso/sake. I would recommend you check the saltiness of your miso paste- mine was a bit salty and next time I'll use 1/2 to 2/3 of it. I tried to use all of the glaze on the tofu, but it ended up being quite thick, so I used the last bits of it to make a sauce for white rice. This required additional time in the broiler. Be extra careful; make sure the glaze has hardened before pulling the tofu. Overall, I think this is a great, fast receive and look forward to making it again. I served the tofu as a main course with stir-fry bok choi and white rice. Oh- I added about 1/4 cup sake and 1/4 cup water to my leftover glaze for a quick and dirty rice sauce.

• Anonymous

• Washington DC

• 6/3/2009