🍱 Kurumi-dofu

"Kurumi-dofu" is made with strained walnut after crushed, water and sugar and set by kudzu (arrowroot) starch. This dish is particular to Oushu City Esashi region in Iwate prefecture, and it is prepared as a "shoujin ryori" (=vegetarian food for Buddhist monk) to replace sashimi (=thinly sliced fish) at the memorial services. It is common that julienne-cut daikon radish and miso sauce with sugar and ginger juice are added when it is served. Sometimes it can be a tea snack without sauce. We can say sesame seeds in "Goma-dofu" (=sesame tofu) is replaced to walnut, but it require more effort than cooking "goma-dofu" because inner skin of walnut needs to be removed. They use locally harvested "Oni-gurumi" (=Japanese walnut) for this dish. "Oni-gurumi" has less tannin, which causes harsh taste and bitterness, and oil, and tastes simple compare to walnut grown abroad. Walnut has been rooted in their diet in Iwate Prefecture, and they express testy flavor as "kurumi-aji" (literally means "walnut flavor" in Japanese).