Instead of being light and airy, mine were dense, tough, and more cake-like. I kicked myself because I know better than to deviate from directions on a first try. I was frustrated and disappointed because after tasting one, the rest went straight into the garbage. I’ll spare you my disastrous attempt and pass on the instructions as they were sent to me. With my confidence shaken, I’ll need some time to recover before giving these a fair shot. You’re smarter than I am and for you, I’m positive these will be everything my mom says they were!

My aunt, who lives in Japan, made this after hearing my mom rave about it but quickly decided it was not worth the effort. Apparently in Japan, tofu donuts are not so novel and all donut shops carry them!

1 pkg (150g) Morinaga Hot Cake Mix
150g med. firm (momen) tofu
2 tsp sugar
oil for deep frying (new oil is better—I used brown rice oil)

Mash tofu with your fingers or pass the tofu through a sieve and into a medium bowl. Add the sugar and cake mix to the tofu and quickly mix well with a rubber spatula. It may look dry at first, but after mixing it’ll be fine.

Shape the dough as you like. I shaped them into balls, but you can also make ring donuts and donut holes. Heat oil to 300 to 320 degrees and deep fry donuts until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate or baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar or dip in chocolate and serve.

Tamagoyaki (or tamago) is also my sushi finisher. My strategy for ordering sushi is similar to reading a good novel: I start with the foundation (like maguro) and work my way towards the climactic peak (ikura, my favorite). Then I always, always end with tamago (no rice, just the tamago). It’s sweet and cold, so in my mind it’s the sushi equivalent for dessert.

They say you can judge a good sushi restaurant by how good their tamago is. Why? Because tamago can be second tier to fish and easily overlooked. But if your chef makes it right, you can assess the level of attention that’s going into the rest of the food.

They’re supposed to be in the shape of a brick, but look—mine are triangles. My layers might be uneven and my pan a little too hot, but it takes practice and I’m making this on my 10″ nonstick. I have a ways to go in honing my skills, but for what it’s worth, it tasted great—just like my mom’s.

Tamagoyaki
Adapted from ぜひ覚えたいおかず
Makes 2 servings

4 eggs
3 Tbsp. dashi
2 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. shoyu
1/5 tsp. salt
1 tsp sake
oil

Combine the dashi, sugar, shoyu, salt, and sake in a small bowl and whisk until sugar is dissolved. Crack the eggs in a bowl and, using chopsticks, beat the eggs carefully so you don’t create air bubbles. It’s easy to do this if you keep the tips of your chopsticks touching the bottom of the bowl as you combine. Once thoroughly mixed, add the dashi mixture and stir, again being careful not to create bubbles.

Heat a tamagoyaki pan or a 10″ nonstick skillet over a medium flame. Once hot, add about a teaspoon of oil. Tilt it around and use a small section of a paper towel to spread the oil evenly and wipe excess. Too much oil is not good, but you want to be sure the egg will come off easily.

Pour about 1/5 or 1/6 of the egg mixture into the pan and tilt it around so there’s an even coat, like making a crepe. As it cooks, if air bubbles pop up, pierce them with your chopsticks. Moving quickly, loosen the edges of the egg and begin to fold over, starting at the far end and rolling towards you. When rolling, take time on each side so that the egg will stick as its cooked. Once you’ve rolled the egg, slide it to the opposite side of the pan farthest away from you.

Pour another 1/5 or 1/6 of the egg mixture and lift the previously cooked egg and tilt the pan so the egg mixture goes underneath it. Again, begin to roll the egg towards you. Once you roll all the way towards you, slide the entire cooked egg to the opposite side of the pan and repeat until you finish with all the egg mixture.

Wait to cool a little before cutting into 1-inch slices.

The original recipe called for good-quality silken (kinugoshi) tofu, lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, charsiu, green onions, and wonton skins. We used what we had on hand and ended up with a meatless version with asparagus. I used leftover gyoza (instead of wonton) skins I had in the freezer, and that seemed to work fine. I sliced about 10 skins thinly, fried in a lot of oil until golden (stirring constantly so they didn’t stick to each other), then let it sit on paper towels until the ingredients of the salad were being prepared.

The dressing was tart—perfect for a light summer meal. I know we’ll be having more Kari Pari Tofu Salad as the days begin to heat up in Southern California. Oh, the dreadful heat to come that’s to come. . . 

Kari Pari Tofu Salad Dressing
Adapted from クロワッサン (December 10, 2004 issue)
Makes 4 servings

1/4 cup low sodium shoyu
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp. ponzu
1 heaping tsp. sugar

Mix ingredients and pour over tofu salad.

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