agedashi tofu

This has always been the first thing I order every time we dine at our favorite Japanese restaurant. It has been awhile since we ate there and I miss this tofu appetizer. I've tried to recreate it at home twice now but still haven't come up with a version that's even close. For this second attempt, I used half of a box of firm tofu which I cut into small blocks. The other half was used for miso soup. I dredged the pieces in cornstarch before pan-frying them. The minute it started splattering, I knew I should have fried it outdoors. I could have browned it some more but the splattering was getting worse so I had to take them out of the skillet. The result was these very lightly browned tofu cubes. I stacked them up in a serving dish and sprinkled some sliced green onions on top. For the dip, I whisked together a simple soy sauce and mirin [Japanese rice wine] combination. It was supposed to have some grated fresh ginger in it but I ran out of it. Another missing ingredient from the dip are some dried seaweeds. They didn't turn out exactly the same as those at the Japanese place but I think they passed the taste test for now. There will be a third attempt for sure.