fried tofu with miso sauce

slabby!

one of my favourite dishes at suehiro in los angeles is a tofu cutlet. it's just a giant slab of tofu dredged in panko crumbs and fried, then served with a sweet miso sauce. the sauce is sort of overwhelming after awhile--oh, actually, the whole thing is sort of overwhelming in its super-fried good cop/bad cop way, but hey! it sounds healthy. and it's good. really.

tofu dredging is not fun, but it is easy. use a slab of firm tofu and squeeze out as much excess water as you can by pressing the slab on cotton kitchen towels or paper towels. cut it into four equal pieces, dip each into a beaten egg, then coat with panko (you can season it with salt, pepper, herbs, chili flakes, whatever). if the crumbs don't stick, i suggest dipping the 'fu back into the egg, and then try again. i've tried coating it with flour and starch to help the egg stick, but it's just not the same, so stick with just egg. fry in hot oil until golden brown and drain on more paper towels.

miso sauce: miso, rice vinegar, salt, sugar, sesame oil. drizzle on top of warm tofu slabs and enjoy.