Tofu Umezu-zuke (Plum Vinegar Pickled Tofu)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 35 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 2
About this dish
Tofu umezu-zuke is a Kochi preserved side dish made by slicing firm momen tofu, pressing it between cloth and absorbent paper for one or two hours, grilling both sides until golden, cooling it, and soaking it for about a week in umezu, the salty sour liquid produced when plums are cured.
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The result combines bright acidity and high salinity with a dense, almost creamy tofu texture, so it is eaten in thin slices as a drinking snack. For home preparation, bottled food-grade umezu is used and tofu is heated through before curing only at 4C or below.
Ingredients
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Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Prep
Cut 400g tofu into four 2cm-thick slabs.
Layer absorbent paper, clean cloth, tofu, cloth, and paper on a tray. Add a board and 1kg weight and press under refrigeration for 90 minutes.
- 2Heat
Replace wet paper and cloth and dry both sides.
Heat a grill or unoiled pan over medium and cook about 4 minutes per side, turning as needed, until golden and at least 74C in the center.
- 3Heat
Cool grilled tofu on a clean rack to 21C or below within 20 minutes.
Arrange without overlap in a glass container sanitized with boiling water and cooled completely.
- 4Step
Pour in 1L bottled umezu labeled for food use, fully submerge tofu, and add a sanitized weight.
Refrigerate immediately at 4C or below for 7 days, gently rocking the container once daily.
- 5Prep
On day 7, remove tofu with clean tongs and slice 3mm thick.
If there is gas, slime, off odor, or mold beyond the expected sour plum aroma, do not taste and discard all. Keep normal pickle refrigerated and consume within 10 days.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Firm tofu dehydrated by cold pressing
- Finish cue
- Heat a grill or unoiled pan over medium and cook about 4 minutes per side, turning as needed, until golden and at least 74C in the center.
- Avoid this
- If there is gas, slime, off odor, or mold beyond the expected sour plum aroma, do not taste and discard all.
- Storage and reheating
- Add a board and 1kg weight and press under refrigeration for 90 minutes.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
35min, 2 ingredients
Category median
32min, 7 ingredients
Based on 163 recipes