Braised tofu and veggies a light broth and topped with a beaten egg. Perfect way to use leftover veggies hiding away in your fridge!
Tamagotoji (卵とじ, or ‘egg binding’ basically) is a cooking technique where you pour a beaten egg over a dish simmered in broth. You see this in dishes like oyakodon and katsuon, the egg is soft and silky and absorbs the flavor of the broth. I’ve been cooking a lot of braised tofu lately and realized I can just make it a million times better by doing this. Was wondering what this cooking method was called (‘Japanese scrambled eggs’ kind of sounded weird) and the same day I found the term while reading a cooking manga lol.
This is a fridge cleanup/quick lunch recipe that borrows Japanese cooking techniques. I’m not Japanese so pls don’t treat this as an authentic Japanese dish lol. I’m using broth that I made from shiitake stems instead of the commonly used dashi, and all the veggies I used are what I had on hand. Feel free to add whatever you want, but the main ingredients that are necessary are basically just tofu, egg, and broth, along with soy sauce and mirin. I also use medium-firm tofu because it’s my favorite, but I think soft tofu would be great in this too!
Tofu Tamagotoji (Braised Tofu with Egg)
Ingredients
- 225 g medium-firm tofu or half a 454g container
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 100~200 ml shiitake stock* or dashi, other soup stock (1~2 cups as needed)
- 1 tbsp mirin taste to adjust
- 1 tbsp soy sauce taste to adjust
- 1 tsp granulated chicken bouillon (optional but recommended) or MSG
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1~2 tbsp cooking oil as needed
All Optional (Use whatever veggies you have in your fridge)
- 4~6 shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 1 medium carrot sliced (suggested replacements: turnip, daikon, potatoes, etc.)
- 1 medium zucchini quarter slices (suggested replacements: eggplant, squash, etc.)
- 1 large spring onion bulb & stalk separated (suggested replacements: shallot, onion, green onion, etc.)
- 1 handful turnip leaves or any other green (suggested replacements: mizuna, spinach, celery leaves etc.)
- Few drops sesame oil
Instructions
Note: I removed the tofu from the pan while cooking the veggies but if you have enough room you can leave it in the pan (more even cooking while simmering in broth)
- Slice tofu into squares. No need to spend extra effort draining liquid but let it sit on a dish as you prep all the veggies and pour away the excess water that comes out.
- Heat pan on medium-high and add enough oil to cover the surface. Fry tofu until golden on both sides (if too wet & you're scared of splatter you can pat dry if you want).
- Remove the tofu (or don't, see note above) and set aside. Add veggies that need cooking (for example, turnip leaves and the greens of the spring onion don't take long to cook so we add that at the end). Some tofu may still be cooking so just leave it on the side undisturbed until done.
- Add salt, white pepper, and chicken bouillon. Let cook on medium heat until veggies are somewhat softened and fragrant.
- Add back the tofu, and then add the stock, soy sauce, and mirin. Add more/less broth to your preference (if using less, make sure to flip the tofu if it's not covered completely as the bottom will absorb more than the top). Let simmer on medium high until veggies are totally cooked through. Taste to adjust seasoning.
- Add your green veggies (quick cooking veggies) on top of your pan. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs. If you want to you can add the optional sesame oil into your egg mixture.
- Pour the egg mixture over everything as evenly as possible (swirl the pan to make sure you get full coverage). Cover with a lid and let the egg cook to your liking (will cook within a minute so check to make sure). Serve and enjoy!
