While browsing the Japanese-language cookbooks at my local bookstore in search of some Sunday-dinner inspiration, I found a book about flavoring salt and sugar with various ingredients, with beautiful pictures of sparkling pink and green granules sprinkled over their accompanying dishes. A few minutes later, while flipping through a tofu cookbook, I spotted a recipe for silken tōfu topped with enoki, garnished with a pinch of matcha salt. Remembering that I had made something similar before from a recipe out of the trusty Washoku by Elizabeth Andoh, and also remembering I already had a recipe for matcha salt, my Sunday dinner seemed set -- and I didn't even have to buy a new cookbook.

The last couple times I made this mushroom-topped tofu recipe, the weather was cold and I used a mixture off dark, meaty mushroom varieties like maitake and shiitake, but because I wanted something more delicate in flavor and pale enough to set off the bright green salt, this time I used only a bunch of thin white enoki. The flavor of the mushroom sauce ended up light enough to let the grassy matcha taste come through.

When preparing tofu simply, Otokomae is my favorite brand to use, both for its dense but silky texture and its unquestionably kakkoii packaging. In addition to the usual blocks, Otokomae is also sold in individual packs of three, kind of like pudding cups or juice boxes. They don't require draining and one is the perfect size for a lunchtime serving or a dinner side dish.

Tōfu no enoki an kake (Tōfu topped with enoki mushrooms)

Adapted from Washoku by Elizabeth Andoh

Makes 2 servings

1 block silken tōfu (kinugoshi-dōfu), drained and pressed*
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
10 oz/300 g enoki mushrooms, ends trimmed
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sake
2/3 cup dashi
1 teaspoon light-colored soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon mirin
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoons cold water
Matcha salt, to garnish

Cut the tōfu in half and place each block in a shallow bowl. Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the mushrooms over high heat for about one minute, or until lightly browned. Add the salt and sake and cook for one minute more. Add the stock, soy sauces and mirin and cook for two minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cornstarch-water mixture and stir for about one minute, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Top each tōfu block with the mushroom sauce and a sprinkling of matcha salt. Serve immediately with chopsticks or a spoon.

Matcha salt

1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon matcha

Mix the salt and matcha in a small dish or jar. In Japan, this is often served as a dip for fried foods like tempura. You can also mix matcha with sugar and sprinkle it on yogurt, cakes or cookies.

*This entry describes how to press the water out of tōfu.