Tofu Scrambles

I found another good recipe in my Japanese cooking books. It is easy to make, filling, and yummy. I find that the Japanese cuisine does not use many harsh spices. It rather enhances the flavors of the ingredients themselves. Korean cuisine for example is very spicy. For example Kimchi is very spicy and also the Korean food at the University festival was very spicy. Koreans have many sauces and spices, which I do not even know the name of. Vietnamese cuisine uses many fresh herbs, all of which have a strong and distinctive delicious flavor: coriander, thai basil, ngo gai, tia to, peppermint,... Italian cuisine also makes use of many herbs: basil, oregano, thyme, rosmarin, etc. But Japanese food often is not spicy.
In this recipe for tofu scrambles for example, the only spices that change the flavor of the ingredients are ginger, schichimi pepper, chives (which are very mild) and Kaiware radish sprouts. Yet, this dish is quite delicious.

 

Main ingredients are: tofu (wrapped in a dish cloth, put weight on it and let stand for 10 minutes), shitake, bell pepper, chives, ginger (fresh is best). The ginger and vegetables are fried in a pan, then the tofu is added. Soy sauce, schichmi pepper, chives, Kaiware radish sprouts give the dish its special flavor.

 

Kaiware radish sprouts: look like "Kresse", but they taste a little bit bitter and spicy.

  

Shichmi pepper: red pepper with 6 other ingredients. Schichi means 7.

  

Here it is, mjam.

  

Voilà