From pickled vegetables, western-style fresh salad to steamed vegetables, you can always find a colorful variety of vegetable side dishes in Japanese home cooking. They provide freshness and nutrients to a complete meal. Today I’ll show you how to make Shiraae (白和え) – a blanched vegetable dressed with flavorful mashed tofu. Refreshing and full of flavor, it’s a vegetable side that I personally make a lot year-round.
What is Shiraae?
Shiraae (白和え), pronounced [shi-ra-ah-eh], is a vegetable side dish with a mixture of mashed tofu, toasted sesame seeds, miso and a touch of sugar. Green vegetables such as green beans and spinach are blanched and seasoned with soy sauce before combined with the tofu mixture. It is one of the signature dishes from Shojin Ryori (精進料理), Japanese Zen Buddhist vegetarian/vegan cuisine. The tofu provides all the protein you’d need while the greens add freshness, color, and texture. Therefore, this dish is a vegan-friendly dish that everyone can enjoy. Besides green beans and spinach, you can use thin strips of asparagus or any seasonal vegetables you have. To keep things fresh, colorful, and fun, I sometimes make Shiraae in a combination of spinach, julienned carrot, konnyaku, and hijiki seaweed. For a more complex flavor, you can also flavor the dish with dashi and mirin.
5 Tips to Make That Creamy Tofu Dressing for Shiraae
The tofu dressing is made of 5 ingredients: tofu, sesame seeds, miso, soy sauce, and sugar. And a bit of salt to taste.
1. Drain tofu
It’s tricky how much you should drain your tofu, but you can always make the adjustment each time. You do not want to dilute your dressing with excess water from the tofu. At the same time, you do not want to remove the water completely as moist tofu adds tender texture to the dish. To find the balance, I usually drain for 15-30 minutes. If I want to shorten to 15 minutes, I would put something heavy on top of the tofu to facilitate the draining process. If I have 30 minutes, I would not put any weight and let it drain naturally.
2. Toast the sesame seeds
Yes, most of the sesame seeds sold in packages are already toasted. However, you can toast it again in the frying pan to bring out the more fragrance.
3. Use white miso
For the creamy tofu dressing, I like to use White Miso (Shiro Miso 白味噌) because the color and sweet flavor complement the mixture. Here’s one from Hikari Miso® Organic White Miso that I used in this recipe.
Hikari Miso has been my go-to miso for over a decade. You can find Hikari Miso® products in your local Japanese grocery stores and Asian markets.
4. Mash the tofu till smooth and creamy
Unless you prefer a chunky tofu texture, I recommend to smooth out the mixture until silky. When chilled, the mashed tofu gives a nice refreshing taste and it’s delicious!
5. Season the vegetables with soy sauce before mixing
Be sure to season the blanched vegetables with soy sauce first. This way, you can shake off any excess liquid before adding them to the tofu mixture.
Great Kitchen Tools for Mashed Tofu Salad
If you like to make this mashed tofu salad regularly, it’s worth getting a set of Japanese-style mortar and pestle, called the Suribachi (すり鉢) and Surikogi (すりこぎ). The inside of the ceramic suribachi is combed to create spirals of fine, jagged grooves that efficiently mix, grind and mash ingredients with a wooden surikogi. Since the ceramic bowl has a beautiful rustic look, you could serve directly at the table. Planning to get one yourself? My recommendation is to go with a bigger Suribachi. Not only it can be used as a serving dish, but it also makes grinding a lot easier. With a bigger bowl, you don’t have to worry about spilling ingredients from the side.
More Side Dishes Similar to Shiraae (Mashed Tofu Salad)
Looking for more vegan-friendly side dishes? Here are some of our favorites!
Gomaae (Spinach Salad with Sesame Dressing) Spinach Ohitashi Spinach with Sesame Miso Sauce
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here. 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. Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on May 11, 2011. It’s been updated with new images and content in December 2019.
