Did you know that in Japan, there exist many different types of tofu?  If you don’t know what tofu is, it’s basically soy bean that has been fermented also known as bean curd..  The process starts off with soy milk where it is transformed from liquid state to a gelatin type state using a coagulation technique.

Tofu can be from a very bouncy soft texture to a more hard sponge texture.  It is usually used as an ingredients for stirfries and for desserts.  It  also has many health benefits such as being high in iron and depending on its process, may be high in calcium as well as magnesium.

In this article we are focusing on the tofu called abura age that is used in inari sushi. 

What is it?

Abura-age is a traditional food in Japan that is used as the outer casing of Inari-sushi.

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This casing is basically taking tofu and cutting it up very thinly where it is then fried up until it is very light.  Apparently it is deep-fried two times and both at different temperatures (First deep-fried at 225°F and the second at 400°F).

The Filling of aburaage

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For use in Inari sushi it is used as the pouch where a variety of different ingredients, primarily rice, are used as the filling.

Not only can it be used in Inari sushi but many Japanese people will add it to their Kitsune Udon or in soups.

Buying aburaage tofu

You can find pretty much anywhere online and it may  be found at your local Asian market if you live in a large city.  It is pretty much widely distributed because of its simple ingredient and light weight size.

One thing we like to mention is that there exist a thicker version of aburaage and it is called Atsuage.  More information will come about this thicker variety.