Yudofu Tofu Hot Water Kyoto Simple

Ingredients

• 900 g kinugoshi silken tofu, fresh, artisanal; cut into large blocks
• 1 piece (10 cm) kombu (dried kelp), wiped clean with a damp cloth
• 1 litre water
• For the dipping sauce
• 60 ml soy sauce
• 30 ml citrus juice, sudachi or yuzu; freshly squeezed
• For the garnish
• 20 g katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)
• 30 g fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 2 stalks negi (Japanese long onion), finely sliced

Method

1. 1
   Place the kombu in the donabe clay pot with 1 litre of cold water. Set over gentle heat at the table or on the stove. Allow the kombu to steep as the water slowly warms. Do not boil. The water is ready when it is fragrant with a clean mineral umami and has turned the palest straw colour — this takes time and must not be rushed.
2. 2
   Combine the soy sauce and citrus juice in a small bowl. Leave at room temperature. Do not heat.
3. 3
   Arrange the katsuobushi, grated ginger, and sliced negi in separate small dishes at the table so each diner may compose their own dipping bowl.
4. 4
   Lower the tofu blocks gently into the kombu water. Maintain the temperature strictly at 70–75°C — the surface of the water must show only the faintest tremor, never a rolling boil. This is the step on which the dish lives or dies: boiling even briefly will toughen the tofu, render it porous and rubbery, and destroy the silky texture that is the sole purpose of the preparation.
5. 5
   The tofu is ready when it is warm throughout and barely holds its form — it will have a gentle give when prodded with a ladle, and its surface will appear smooth and luminous. Lift each block carefully into individual bowls.
6. 6
   Each diner stirs condiments into the dipping sauce to taste, then draws the warm tofu through it before eating. The cooking water, now carrying gentle protein released from the tofu into the kombu broth, may be served as a delicate soup to finish the meal.