Simmered soybeans and koyadofu in tomato sauce

Cook soybeans and koyadofu in a savory tomato sauce. Japanese style simmered dish which is great for dinner, lunch and meal prep as well.

Soybeans and koyadofu(frozen-dried tofu) are great protein sources for Japanese cooking.

Both ingredients doesn't have strong flavor, but it becomes savory by simmering with the sweetness and umami of vegetables in this recipe.

Recommend this recipe for
• Someone who wants to learn how to cook koyadofu
• Someone who wants to learn how to cook soybeans
• Someone who is looking for Japanese plant based recipe
• Vegan/Vegetarian

It's all plant based ingredients so If you are vegan or vegetarian, please check it out.

Let me walk you through the ingredients and how to make it with step by step instructions.

About this recipe

• Japanese style simmered dish
• Easy, plant based recipe
• Cooking time is less than 30 minutes

Japanese plant based protein

Both soybeans and koyadofu is great Japanese plant based protein. Especially koyadofu is used for substitute of meat in Japanese vegetarian cooking as it has chewy texture. Let me give you a quick guide about koyadofu.

what is koyadofu

Koyadofu is dried preserved food made by freezing tofu, aging at low temperature, and then drying.

Since it's made from tofu, it's soybean products and known for its high nutritional value such as protein, calcium and dietary fiber.

When you cook it, it's required to soak in the water, and becomes like a sponge. It's soft, chewy and flavorless.

Most traditional dish is "simmered koyadofu" which is simmered in dashi stock to add flavor.

📋 Ingredients

Here are the ingredients(amounts is in recipe card below).

• Vegetables　>> Onion, carrot, potatoes, garlic
• Koyadofu　>> Use bite size(⅙ size) koyadofu for this recipe. If it is a regular full size, cut it into smaller pieces before use.(please see the next section)
• Soybeans　>> I prefer to cook dry soybeans in a pressure cooker (I usually cook them in bulk and store them in the freezer). Canned soybeans are also ok.
• Broth　>> I use vegetable broth powder which doesn't include any animal ingredients.
• Canned tomato　>> Canned diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes, both are ok.
• Salt and pepper

Size of koyadofu

If you haven't purchased koyadofu yet, here is some information for you.

Koyadofu is sold in different sizes like the picture. Full size is most common size and others are cut into smaller sizes. We use ⅙ size for this recipe.

I always stock full size, ⅙ size and thin slices. The ⅙ size is often used for simmered dish or when I just want to use a little bit. Full size is often used when koyadofu is the main ingredient, such as Koyadofu katsu(cutlet).

By the way, the thin slices does not require soaking in the water. You can put it in miso soup or stir-fry as it is, so it is very convenient because you can quickly use it when you do not have time for soaking.

If you are first time to cook koyadofu, the full size is good to start, and easy to find at an asian grocery store. Please cut into small pieces according to the recipe.

🔪Step by step instructions

How to make is very simple! Let me show you the steps.

1. Cut ingredients：Chop garlic, and cut all the other vegetables into 1 cm cube.  Soak koyadofu in the water, drain, and cut into 1 cm cube also.
2. Fry the garlic：Add oil to a pan, and fry the garlic over low heat.
3. Stir fry vegetables：When you smell the garlic, stir fry the vegetables over medium heat in the order of onion → carrot → potato.
4. Add other ingredients：Add koyadofu, soybeans, salt, broth, canned tomato and water, and mix lightly
5. Simmer：Bring it to a boil, cover and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes until vegetables get tender
6. Adjust the taste：Open the lid,  confirm if the vegetables are cooked well, and add salt and pepper to adjust the taste.

Here you go! It is delicious both cold and warm. I like to eat it after it has cooled down and the taste has settled down.

The finished product is quite large portion(fills an 850 ml container). If you cannot eat it all soon, I would recommend to put it in a freezer bag and store in the freezer. It will last for a month.

Other ideas to enjoy this recipe

The base of this recipe is tomato sauce, so it will be easily transformed to a different dish. If you are tired of eating as it is, please try these ideas.

• Sandwich　>> Place it with some fresh vegetables on a bread, and make a hearty sandwich for lunch!
• Tomato soup　>> Dilute it with tomato juice, add pinch of salt or broth to adjust the taste.
• Tomato pasta　>> This is my favorite one. Dilute it with pasta cooking water and mix with boiled pasta. Serve with a salad for your meal!
• Baked pasta　>> This is enhanced version of above. Mix it with boiled pasta, put it in a baking dish, put cheese on top and bake it in the oven.
• Tomato okayu　>> Put it and dashi stock in a pot, add cooked Japanese rice, and simmer over low heat. This is called okayu(Japanese rice porridge) and great for especially cold season. 

Thanks for Stopping By

It's flavorful, easy and tasty. Soybeans, koyadofu, tomato, all go well with together. And it's versatile(like i mentioned previous section )which I love about this recipe.

I hope you will enjoy the recipe too!

Thank you for taking time to read my blog♡ If you’ve tried this recipe(or any other recipe on the blog), please give it a star rating below!

Also feel free to leave comments if you have any questions. I love hearing from you!

Chef JA Cooks is a Japanese food blog which share simple and healthy Japanese home cooking recipes include vegan and vegetarian. From traditional Japanese recipes to modern recipes with step by step instructions.

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