Simmered warm tofu 煮やっこ

This is a quick dish I made one weekday evening. I got the idea of making this dish from reading the description of simmered tofu which was cooked in the simmering broth in which fish was cooked. This is because I had leftover simmering liquid from cooking a  whole vermilion snapper in the refrigerator. Since this simmering liquid has lots of collagen/protein from the fish, it totally congealed as a gel in the refrigerator and I was looking for how I could use it. I also happened to have about a cup and half of “dashi broth” I made from a “dashi pack” (combination of kelp and bonito flakes). In addition I also had some leftover silken tofu (3/4 block) which was the portion left after I made stir fried tofu, abura-age and daikon greens. So all the constillations were lined up perfectly to make this dish.

I combined the broth and congealed simmering liquid and heated it up. After I tasted the broth, I added soy sauce and sake for a fresh soy sauce taste and for adjusting the seasoning. In addition to the tofu I also boiled quail eggs (from a can) and simmered for 15 minutes or so.

I served it with a garnish of chopped scallion and a dab of hot Japanese mustard. I was afraid that this would taste too “fishy” from the congealed simmering liquid, but I was not fishy at all. It had a nice flavor. This silken tofu (from our Japanese grocery store) was good quality and a perfect snack with sake. I could have done a better presentation, though.