Aburaage (油揚げ) is puffed tofu pouches deep-fried to a golden yellow color. When served on top of udon or soba noodles, the dish is called Kitsune udon/Kitsune soba. When seasoned and stuffed with rice, it’s Inari sushi.
What Is Aburaage
Aburaage (油揚げ) is Japanese deep-fried tofu pouches made of firm tofu. It is made by cutting firm tofu into thin slices and deep-frying twice in vegetable oil. They are first fried at a lower temperature of 230-250 ºF (110-120 °C), which causes the tofu to expand in size. Then they are fried again at a higher temperature of 360-400 ºF (180-200 °C), which plumps them up further and turns golden brown. With the double frying technique, the skin of the tofu becomes thin and creates air pockets (similar to pita bread). You can stuff them with different ingredients. Can’t find aburaage? Make it from scratch at home! Cut a block of tofu into thin slices, around half inch or 1 cm. Drain well by wrapping each piece with a kitchen towel and leaving it overnight. When deep frying the tofu, keep a close watch and flip them constantly, ensuring the heat remains steady. 1 piece of Aburaage is ¾ oz (20 g).
What Does It Taste
It has a mild soy flavor with a spongy texture. It soaks up broths and flavors well.
How To Prep Aburaage
It’s best to drain excess oil before cooking. Pour hot water over the tofu pouches or blanch them in boiling water to remove the oil. Another method is to dab the aburaage with paper towels. It is not as effective as pouring hot water or blanching, but it is a quick trick when you don’t have time. It comes in packages of squares, rectangles, or triangles. You can find refrigerated, frozen, or canned (seasoned inari age) aburaage. Use aburaage in miso soup, oden, noodle soups, cook with rice, add to stir-fries, or stuff the pockets with rice for inari sushi, or mochi for kinchaku (巾着).
Recipes Using Aburaage
Where To Buy Aburaage
For convenience, Japanese home cooks usually buy prepackaged tofu pouches from the supermarket instead of deep-frying them at home. You can find aburaage, refrigerated, frozen, or canned. Check your local Asian and Japanese grocery stores. Japanese Aburaage is made the same way as Chinese tofu puffs or other Asian bean curd puffs, but they are larger and flatter. There is also another similar tofu product known as Atsu-age (厚揚げ), which is a block of deep-fried tofu. The exterior is golden yellow from deep-frying, and the inside is creamy.
How To Store
You can keep fresh aburaage in the fridge or store it in the freezer. Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
