Japanese Tofu Steak

Ingredients:
2 300 g tofu (soft not firm)
cornstarch
Japanese-style bread crumbs (Panko)
2 Tbsp olive oil

Marinade:
1/4 c soy sauce
2 t sugar
2 Tbsp mirin

Sauce:
1/4 kg ground pork
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 small onion, sliced thin
4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced (if using dried, soak in hot water until soft. Remove stem and slice)
1 1/2 c dashi stock (1 1/2 c water with 1 Tbsp dashi powder)
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c mirin
2 t honey

Procedure:
1. Wrap tofu in paper towel to remove as much water as possible. Steam 5 minutes (this keeps tofu moist inside). Then marinate for at least one hour.
2. Remove from marinade. Dredge in cornstarch then Japanese breadcrumbs. Panfry in 2T olive oil until crispy on the outside. Set aside.
3. Make the sauce by frying ground pork. Add garlic, onion and mushroom. Add rest of ingredients and bring to a boil. Add salt/pepper to taste. Thicken the sauce with cornstarch slurry (1/4 c water, 3 t cornstarch). Pour over Tofu steaks.

My notes:
I use the soft tofu for this dish. Although firm tofu is easier to fry, it does not give you the melt in your mouth, soft/crispy texture of the dish. I cut the tofu in half or sometimes quarter for ease of handling. Also try not to steam it for more than 5 min because it gets really soft and a pain to panfry. Lastly, I don't like anything to go to waste and so I reuse my marinade. I pour it into a glass measuring cup and add 2 parts soy sauce to one part mirin to make 1/2 cup.

This is one of my favorite recipes.