Silken Tofu with Mushrooms and Bonito Flakes

This recipe was inspired by Century Egg with House Tofu, a mind-blowing dish at Fat Mao, a restaurant in Vancouver, Canada. The dish stars incredible house-made tofu and quartered century eggs — blanketed with cilantro leaves, sliced scallions and fried shallots and dressed with “black garlic sauce.”

Century eggs, in case you’re not familiar with them, are a Chinese delicacy made by preserving eggs in an an alkaline solution and ash — which renders the yolks intensely flavorful (funky! stinky!) and the whites gelatinous. The whole thing has serious umami. Clearly the fabulous century eggs are the point of Fat Mao’s dish, but we really loved the whole vibe: the tofu, the sauce, the herbs, the crunchy shallots, and yes that century egg. Still, we thought if we could come up with an easier-to-make, perhaps less intimidating analog for the egg, we’d have a pretty exciting recipe.

READ: Katsuobushi (bonito flakes) will put a spring in your step and umami on your plate

We found the analog in cremini mushrooms dry-steamed till they produce their own sauce, which then gets reduced to a glaze. (We learned the technique from one of our favorite cookbook authors, Kate Leahy, who credits another favorite author — Andrea Nguyen with introducing her to it. The texture, color and umami level gently recalls Fat Mao’s century eggs. We hope you enjoy our interpretation. If you do, find your way to Vancouver and treat yourself to the real thing at Fat Mao.

It’s kind of a chill dish to make, as everything is served room temperature. That means you can prepare each element lazily or quickly, as you like.

Serves 2 as a light lunch, or 3 to 4 as a dinner appetizer.

Ingredients

For the BLACK GARLIC sauce

1 large clove black garlic, peeled and put through a garlic press (about 1/2 teaspoon crushed)

1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

For the DRY-STEAMED mushrooms

5 ounces/150 g cremini or button mushrooms, trimmed and halved or quartered (depending on their size)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon of the Black Garlic Sauce

For the fried shallots

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 medium shallot, sliced thin

To assemble

14 ounces silken tofu

1 1/2 scallions, sliced thin (green and white parts)

The Dry-Steamed Mushrooms

The remaining Black Garlic Sauce

Leaves from 1 nice handful of cilantro

The Fried Shallots

Shichimi togarashi, Aleppo pepper or freshly ground white pepper to taste

1/3 cup (packed lightly) bonito flakes

Instructions

1. To make the Black Garlic Sauce, combine the crushed black garlic, the Shaoxing wine, the soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil in a small bowl. Whisk well to combine, breaking up the black garlic as you whisk. Set aside.

2. To make the Dry-Steamed Mushrooms, place the mushrooms in a small saucepan, pour the olive oil over them, cover them and place them over medium heat. After 2 or 3 minutes, they’ll begin to squeak. Remove them from the heat, add a big pinch of salt, and give them a stir. Cover again, place over low heat and cook for 12 minutes. Check to see if they’re soft and cooked through; if not, continue cooking, covered, another minute or two. They will have given up their liquid, which then cooks off. If there’s any liquid remaining in the pan, continue cooking briefly uncovered till it is almost entirely evaporated. Remove from the heat, spoon 1 tablespoon of the Black Garlic sauce over the mushrooms, stir to coat well, and set aside.

3. To fry the shallots, line a small plate with paper towel. Heat the canola oil over medium-high heat until it is very hot but not smoking. Drop in a slice of shallot; if the oil is ready, the shallot will sizzle vehemently. Once the oil is hot enough, add the shallot slices, and fry the until they are golden-brown, about 3 minutes. Do not let them burn. Use a slotted spoon to remove them to the prepared plate. Set aside.

4. To assemble the dish, drain the tofu and unmold it onto a cutting board. Slice it into 1/4-inch slices, and arrange them in a shallow bowl or on a deep plate. Scatter the scallions over the tofu, arrange the mushrooms on top and drizzle the sauce over all. Scatter the cilantro leaves and fried shallots on top, and season to taste with shichimi togarashi. Mound the bonito flakes in the center and serve.