Chrysanthemum Tofu in Miso Soup

Name: Chrysanthemum Tofu in Miso Soup
Cook time: P0Y0M0DT0H15M0.000S
Total time: P0Y0M0DT0H15M0.000S
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: asian
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon instant dashi, such as Hondashi; 2 tablespoons white miso paste; One 14-ounce block silken tofu or soft tofu; 1 scallion, thinly sliced

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Level: Easy

Total: 15 min
Active: 15 min

Yield: 4 servings

Chrysanthemum tofu is popular on social media for its unexpected display of tofu delicately cut to resemble a gorgeous flower floating in a bowl of soup. It’s a dish that’s considered a test of knife skills for Chinese chefs, but it’s also very doable (and inexpensive!) to master at home once you know a few tricks. We suggest you use wooden chopsticks, so you don’t accidentally cut through the soft tofu block, and to form your flower right on top of a plastic bowl scraper (sometimes called a dough scraper) so you can easily transfer it to your soup bowl. We found this technique even more successful than using one of the flower-making gadgets sold for the task. Chrysanthemum tofu can be served in a variety of clear broths, chicken being the most popular, but we’ve opted for a Japanese-style miso soup using dashi powder and miso paste; it’s delicious and ready in minutes.

Level: Easy

Total: 15 min
Active: 15 min

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

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1 tablespoon instant dashi, such as Hondashi

2 tablespoons white miso paste

One 14-ounce block silken tofu or soft tofu

1 scallion, thinly sliced

Directions

Watch how to make this recipe.

Bring 4 cups cold water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the instant dashi and stir until combined. Place the miso paste in a medium strainer and rub the miso against the sides of the strainer with a spoon while you hold it in the hot dashi (a strainer with a long handle will keep your hands away from the hot steam). Set the broth aside on low heat to keep warm.
Meanwhile, while the water comes up to a boil, cut the tofu block into quarters. Place a quarter of a tofu block onto a plastic bowl scraper. Place wooden chopsticks on opposite sides of the tofu, parallel to each other. Gently cut the tofu with a thin, very sharp knife into thin slices; make the slices as thin as you can without breaking the tofu, about 1/4- to 1/8-inch thick. Make sure you don’t cut all the way through the tofu (the chopsticks should stop the knife to help prevent that). Rotate the bowl scraper 90 degrees and rotate the pair of chopsticks 90 degrees as well so that it is perpendicular to the previous location. Gently cut the tofu across in the other direction to form small strips.
Pick up the bowl scraper and carefully place the tofu in the center of a soup serving bowl. Gently pour about 3/4 cup of hot miso soup onto the side of the bowl so it doesn’t ruin the tofu. Bob the soup up and down and use chopsticks to gently separate the thin tofu strips to form a chrysanthemum flower. Garnish with some sliced scallion. Repeat with the remaining tofu pieces and broth.