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Niku-dofu

Name: Niku-dofu
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 400 g firm tofu; 250 g thinly sliced beef; 1 onion; 2 spring onions or Japanese leek; 300 ml dashi; 3 tbsp soy sauce; 2.5 tbsp sugar; 1 thumb-sized piece ginger; 1 pinch shichimi togarashi

Beef and tofu simmer

Niku-dofu (肉豆腐): Japanese tofu and thin beef slices simmered with onion in a sweet soy broth

Features:High protein Quick Dairy free

Cuisine:

Japanese

Niku-dofu is a home and izakaya favourite across Japan, especially in winter, when a pot of it comes to the table with rice and miso soup on a weeknight. Thin slices of beef and big blocks of firm tofu simmer with onion and spring onion in a sweet soy and dashi broth until the tofu is stained amber and full of flavour. This is a beef dish; a portion has about 26 g of protein from the beef and tofu. Traditional recipes use sake and mirin; this version leaves them out and uses a little more sugar, so it is alcohol-free. The common mistake is boiling the beef for the whole time, which makes it tough: add it near the end. Chef's tip: press the tofu for 15 minutes first so it soaks up the broth instead of watering it down.

Total time: 30 min
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 4

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Ingredients

Serves4

14 oz firm tofupressed for 15 minutes, cut into 8 blocks
9 oz thinly sliced beefsuch as sukiyaki-cut chuck, cut into 6 cm pieces
1 onioncut into 1 cm wedges
2 spring onions or Japanese leekcut diagonally into 4 cm lengths
1 ¼ cups dashi
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 ½ tbsp sugar
1 thumb-sized piece ginger (optional)julienned
1 pinch shichimi togarashi (optional)

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Method

0/6 done

Step 1: Combine 1 ¼ cups dashi, 3 tbsp soy sauce and 2 ½ tbsp sugar in a wide, shallow pan and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
3 min
Step 2: Add 1 onion and 14 oz firm tofu in one layer. Simmer gently for 8 minutes, spooning the broth over, until the onion is soft and the tofu is light brown on top.
8 min
Step 3: Push the tofu aside and add 9 oz thinly sliced beef, spreading the slices out so they don't clump. Skim off any grey foam.
1 min
Step 4: Simmer 3–4 minutes, just until the beef has no pink left and the broth has reduced by about a third. Don't cook it longer or it toughens.
4 min
Step 5: Add 2 spring onions or Japanese leek and 1 thumb-sized piece ginger and cook 1 minute, until bright green and just soft.
1 min
Step 6: Serve in bowls with the broth spooned over, and 1 pinch shichimi togarashi for anyone who wants heat.

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 310 kcal
Protein: 26 g
Carbs: 14 g
Fat: 17 g
Fibre: 2 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does niku-dofu take?: About 30 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?: 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
What can I use instead of onion?: 2 shallots per onion.
What can I use instead of spring onions or japanese leek?: 1 onion per leek.

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