Gomadoufu(Sesame tofu) ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

Wakayama Prefecture

Gomadoufu(Sesame tofu)

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Main lore areas

Northern Wakayama Prefecture
Main ingredients used

Sesame seeds, Yoshino arrowroot

History/origin/related events

“Sesame tofu” is said to have originated as one of the vegetarian Buddhist dishes eaten by monks practicing austere asceticism at Mount Koya, a temple settlement founded by Kobo Daishi (Kukai) roughly 1,200 years ago.
Sesame is an extremely nutritious food that was once considered to be a valuable medicine in China. It is said that Kobo Daishi, who traveled to China as an envoy to the Tang Dynasty, brought sesame back to Mount Koya and began cultivating it in Japan. Buddhist cuisine, which does not include meat or fish, tends to lack protein, and as a result, it is believed that people adhering to a diet consisting of Buddhist cuisine supplemented their diet by eating sesame, which contains high quality protein.
Sesame tofu was later conceived as an efficient way of consuming the nutrients contained in sesame. The skin is removed from raw sesame seeds without roasting and mixed with Yoshino arrowroot and water from Mount Koya. The mixture is then ground with a mortar and pestle and cooked. There is also an alternative theory that sesame tofu has its origins in “ma tofu”, a dish described in “Japanese and Chinese Buddhist Cuisine” published in 1697.
During the Showa period, sesame tofu gained widespread recognition as a Mount Koya specialty, and today it is one of the staple dishes of Japanese cuisine.
Opportunities and times of eating habits

Sesame tofu was a core part of the diet of Buddhist monks practicing ascetism at Mount Koya. Even today, it is a common dish served as part of Buddhist meals at Mount Koya and other Zen Buddhist temples. Outside of Mount Koya, sesame tofu is also available at stores, roadside stations, and supermarkets, making it a familiar dish.
How to eat

Sesame tofu is usually eaten with wasabi soy sauce or vinegar miso paste, but it is also delicious when combined with soup stock, or when eaten as a dessert, drizzled with wasanbon sugar or black honey.
Efforts for Preservation and Succession

Sesame tofu has been commercialized by manufacturers and has become a common sight in local specialty stores and supermarkets. Manufacturers are also working to deepen elementary school students’ understanding of sesame tofu by having them experience growing white sesame and making sesame tofu themselves. Tofu stores in Wakayama City will also sell raw sesame tofu, which is sesame tofu that is made with raw instead of roasted sesame, upon request. Raw sesame tofu does not keep for more than a day, but it is exceptionally delicious.

RECIPE

Ingredients (5 servings)

White sesame seeds 1 cup
Yoshino arrowroot 70g
Water 750ml

How to cook

1. Roast the sesame seeds and grind them in a food processor. Put the ground sesame seeds in a mortar and grind until oil is released.
2. Add water to the ground sesame seeds in 1, put the sesame seeds in a strainer and squeeze out the oil. Transfer the oil to a pot, add Yoshino arrowroot, and stir well with a wooden spoon until dissolved.
3. Cook over medium heat, stirring patiently, for 7 to 8 minutes. When the mixture has reached an appropriate consistency, place it in a damp metal mold, and allow it to cool.

provider : Guide to "Tastes and Ingredients We Want to Pass On" in the Ito Region, (Ito Regional Agricultural Improvement and Promotion Center, Department for the Promotion of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ito Promotion Bureau, Wakayama Prefecture (now Agriculture and Fisheries Promotion Division, Department for the Promotion of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ito Promotion Bureau, Wakayama Prefecture)

Recipes vary depending on the region and home.

Contact

Food Cultures Office, Overseas Market Development and Food Cultures Division, Food Industry Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Tel:+81-3-3502-5516

Gomadoufu(Sesame tofu) ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

Wakayama Prefecture