Fried Koyadofu (Japanese Vegetarian Recipe) | Chef JA Cooks (2024)

Fried Koyadofu is a Japanese tonkatsu (fried pork) style recipe, and It’s a healthy vegetarian dish that will make you feel just as satisfied. If you’re looking to make something new or enjoy tasty food that’s healthy, too, then try this recipe out!

Koyadofu is freeze-dried tofu that provides a healthy plant-based protein option for those looking to eat less meat.

Traditional koyadofu recipes are often slow-cooked, but this fried koyadofu is quick and easy. You can enjoy the chewy and crunchy texture as well as a variety of different flavors with the homemade sauce.

This recipe is for you if:
• You love healthy Japanese recipe
• You want to learn how to cook koyadofu
• You are looking for Japanese vegetarian recipe

I will show you how to make this delicious main dish. If you want to check the recipe, please jump to the recipe card. Let’s get cooking!

About This Recipe

• Koyadofu (freeze-dried tofu) recipe
• Japanese tonkatsu-style dish
• Vegetarian recipe (vegan adaptable)
• Homemade sauce recipe

📋 Ingredients

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

• Koyadofu (See below for more details)
• Egg
• Flour: All types of flour are okay, including gluten-free flour.
• Panko (See below for more details)

What is Koyadofu?

Koyadofu is a traditional Japanese ingredient that has been frozen and dried to create an interesting texture. It’s hard as a bar soap, but once soaked in water, it becomes softer, spongy even.

It’s flavorless, so you must season the dish when cooking or pour some sauce over; otherwise, your meal might taste bland.

We love to cook it in different dishes. We use it for soups and simmered dishes as well as a stir fry.

Koyadofu is well known as a nutritious food. It contains more protein and calcium than regular tofu and it’s rich in iron, zinc as well as dietary fiber too.

Size of koyadofu

There are a few different size options that I have in my pantry. These sizes are precut of full size.

• Full size
• Half size
• 1/6 size
• 1/20 size
• 1/60 size (thin slice)
• 1/150 size

The thin slices don’t require to soak in water beforehand, so I often put them in soups. And other sizes are used for simmered dishes, fry, and stir fry, and so on.

In this recipe, we are gonna use full size, which is the most common koyadofu. If you have small children, it would be good to use 1/2 size or 1/6 size also.

Panko

Panko is bread crumbs in Japanese, and it is necessary for fried food.

There are 2 types of panko available:

• Dried panko
• Nama panko (not dried)

The difference is the amount of water contained. Nama panko includes more water than the dried version, so it’s soft.

Flakes of Nama panko are often larger, and the texture after frying is more fluffy and lighter than dried ones.

On the other hand, the texture of dried panko is more crunchy.

Dried panko lasts longer and is versatile for any dish, in my opinion, so I most likely have a dried one in my pantry. However, If you want a dish that has a lighter texture, then Nama panko is suitable.

🔪Instructions

How to make is very simple! Just rehydrate koyadofu with water, bread, and fry. Let me show you the steps.

Let me go through how to make this recipe. You can also watchthis video.

1. Soak koyadofu in water
2. Prepare egg, flour, and panko
3. Bread the koyadofu
4. Fry for 2 minutes until golden brown
5. Flip it over and fry
6. Fry the side as well

Here’s your crunchy fried koyadofu!

A freshly fried one is so juicy and tender. When it gets cold, the moisture seeps out of every crispy brown edge, which makes them dry. You should eat before they get too cool because you’ll be missing a lot!

Koyadofu is not seasoned, so why not pour your favorite sauce over it or try my homemade sauce in the following?

Homemade Sauce

We often use a sauce called “tonkatsu sauce” for fried dishes, and it goes well with this koyadofu katsu as well. but if you have extra time, why don’t you try homemade sauce?

The perfect blend of miso and honey, based on the versatile ketchup. The rich sauce is sweet with a touch of acidity that will make your taste buds tingle!

Vegan Version

If you’re vegan or try to avoid eggs, this recipe is adaptable to your needs.

Mix the flour and water at a 1:1 ratio. Dip your koyadofu into it before breading it with panko. Fry them until they are golden brown.

How to eat leftovers

If you make the fried koyadofu ahead of time and it tastes dry, cut it into bite-size pieces and toss them with the homemade sauce or your favorite one. This will make it juicy and tender again!

Some dishes to serve with

If you need some ideas for what to serve with, what about something like this?

• Japanese steamed rice (or brown rice)
• Miso soup with shiitake mushroom and carrot (Niboshi dashi)
• Pickled cucumber
• Boiled Okra
• Tomato and celery

Rice, soup, main and side–this is a standard Japanese-style meal. I hope you get an idea.

Have some fun!

You can get creative with koyadofu by adding ingredients to the inside of it for more flavor. Here are some ideas:

• Cheese and nori sheet (photo above): My favorite cheese katsu! Kids love this.
• Potato salad: Rich potato salad seasoned with mayo, vinegar, salt, and pepper would be good.
• Egg salad: Same as above, rich egg salad would be perfect for the stuffing.
• Hummus: Thick creamy hummus goes really well with plain taste koyadofu.

Thanks for Stopping By!

It’s a tasty, easy, and healthy Japanese vegetarian dish. I hope you will enjoy the recipe as much as we do!

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

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

More Vegetarian Recipes You Might Like

• Simmered Soybeans and Koyadofu in Tomato Sauce
• Vegetarian Tofu Hambagu
• Teriyaki Tofu and Mushrooms
• Teriyaki Atsuage Recipe
• Tamagoyaki