Yudofu
A hot tofu dish rooted in Kyoto's Zen Buddhist temple cuisine, shojin ryori, especially around the Nanzen-ji temple district — a style tracing to Chinese Buddhist monastic cooking brought to Japan by monks in the 13th century. Kyoto's soft, mineral-light water is a real, practical reason the city became known for especially delicate tofu. True yudofu is intentionally minimal: tofu cubes gently warmed, never boiled hard, in a plain kombu dashi, with the tofu's own quality doing the work; strict temple versions skip the fish-derived bonito flakes entirely to keep the dish fully plant-based.
Vegan-optionalVegetarian
⚠ Contains: Soy, Fish. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 600g soft or medium-firm tofu, cubed
- 1 piece kombu
- 1 liter water
- Soy sauce, to serve
- Grated ginger, to serve
- Scallion, sliced, to serve
- Bonito flakes (optional, for a non-vegan version)
- Citrus (yuzu or lemon), to serve
Steps
- Soak the kombu in the water for 30 minutes, then gently heat, without boiling, to make a light dashi.
- Add the tofu cubes and warm gently in the barely-simmering broth until heated through.
- Serve directly from the pot with small dipping bowls of soy sauce, ginger, scallion, and bonito flakes if using.