Baked tofu namerou 豆腐のなめろう

This is an interesting recipe I saw in the new Izakaya cookbook called "The real Izakaya cookbook". This is supposedly "namerou" but instead of fish (usually blue skinned fish like mackerel), this recipe uses tofu--not raw but baked. I served this with warm sake. Recently, I am fond of having "Hakutsuru" junmai sake 白鶴純米 as warm sake.

This "namerou" is, as I said, actually baked. The original recipe just said "spread on aluminum foil and bake". I thought it would stick to the foil, so I put it on parchment paper which turned out to be a wise move. I was able to remove it from the pan just by using the edges of the paper to lift it.  I cut it into the two portions, still on the paper, as seen below. (The edges of the parchment paper are just visible.)

With this, I served my ususal mackerel simmered in miso. I also served marinated spicy tofu.

This recipe came from an Izakaya cookbook I recently acquired. The book has mostly standard Izakaya recipes but there are some interesting and unique dishes. I will make some more dishes and will include the description of this cookbook the Izakaya cookbook section of this blog. Again, I changed the amounts and made some modification since I did not have myouga)

Ingredients: (For two small servings, the original recipe used a 12 oz block of tofu, and myouga. I didn't have myouga or any thing I thought I could use as a substitute. I added Italian parsley)

Silken tofu 5oz (140g)(#1) To remove excess moisture I wrapped it in a paper towel and put it between 2 cutting boards to weight it down. The upper cutting board was heavy and wooden. I left it that way for 1 hour (#2).
Ginger root, grated (or from tube) 1/4 tsp
One egg yolk (#3)
1 tbs miso (#3)
1/2 tsp soy sauce (#3)
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 sprig Italian parsley, stem removed and finely chopped (optional, if available use myouga)

Direction:
Using a knife, I chopped and mixed all ingredients (#4).
Spread thinly on parchment paper (this was my addition, without it the namerou would most likely stick to the aluminum foil) on aluminum foil covered baking sheet.
Bake at 400F for 10 minutes (#5, I used my toaster oven on convection mode).
Lift the baked namerou using two ends of the parchment paper, cut into two squares and serve hot with the parchment paper still attached (#6)

This is indeed a very unique and interesting dish. I could have seasoned it a bit more aggressively (more miso) and a hint of sweetness (maybe mirin instead of soy sauce) may have worked better. This is not like "nameous" made from raw fish like mackerel but still, a quite good small dish that goes well with sake.