-
1
Press the tofu blocks between two flat surfaces weighted for 20 minutes to expel excess moisture. Thread each block lengthwise onto two parallel bamboo skewers so the tofu is stable. The surface of each block must feel dry to the touch before it meets heat — residual water will steam rather than char and prevent the miso from adhering.
-
2
Prepare the chosen neri-miso. Combine all listed ingredients for the selected variation in a small heavy saucepan. Set over the lowest possible heat. Stir continuously with a wooden spatula — scraping the base and sides — for approximately 5 minutes. The mixture is ready when it pulls cleanly away from the sides of the pot, has thickened to a glossy paste, and holds a line drawn through it. Do not allow excessive caramelisation: the paste must retain the complex fermented character of the base miso, not tip into pure sweetness. For yuzu miso, remove the pan from the heat before folding in the grated zest — the aromatic compounds are volatile and must not be cooked. Set the finished neri-miso aside.
-
3
Grill the skewered tofu over binchōtan charcoal — or the highest setting of a domestic grill — to 60–70% doneness. The surface should be lightly coloured with faint grill marks and feel just firm under light finger pressure; the interior remains cool. Remove from the heat and allow a brief rest until the surface has dried and is no longer hot to the touch. This rest is necessary: applying neri-miso to a surface that is too hot causes the paste to run and thin unevenly.
-
4
This is where the dish lives or dies. Using a small palette knife or the back of a spoon, apply a thin, even layer of neri-miso to one flat face of each tofu block. The layer must be thin — no more than 2 mm. A thick application will burn black at the surface before the interior layer can caramelise; two thin sequential applications are always preferable to one thick one. Return the skewers to the grill, miso-side facing the heat source. Grill briefly at high heat until the neri-miso surface shows a burnished, lacquered gloss and the edges just begin to catch colour. If a second application is desired, repeat: rest, apply a second thin coat to the same face, and return to the grill once more. The finished surface is mahogany-glossy for aka-miso, pale gold for shiro-miso, never black, never matt.
-
5
Serve the dengaku immediately on the skewer. The contrast between the caramelised, sweet-savoury miso coating and the cool, neutral tofu interior is the defining sensory experience of the dish. The aroma at the table should be of warm fermented grain and faint caramel — not of smoke or carbon.