Kerry’s Crispy Salt and Pepper Tofu with Hijiki and Mirin Sauce, Edamame and Lime
Rooted in Japanese kitchens – a bright, savoury plate with a playful zing
Table of Contents
- ✨ Before We Begin…
- The Cook’s Mind
- A Note on Origin
- Ingredient Focus: Hijiki
- My Favourite Way to Eat
- Multi-Purpose Recipe
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- What Will You Learn Whilst Making This Recipe?
- Handpicked to Go With This One
- Waste Less: How To Use Up Your Ingredient Stash!
- Kerry’s Crispy Salt and Pepper Tofu with Hijiki and Mirin Sauce, Edamame and Lime Recipe
✨ Before We Begin…
This dish was born from inspiration — a student called Kerry, whose enthusiasm for cooking inspires me! It’s simple, quick, and full of contrast: crisp tofu, tender edamame, and a glossy, sea-sweet sauce with just the right zing of lime. Dishes like this are why I teach — because sharing flavours leads to something new, personal, and quietly brilliant.
‘Must be best food offer, of any genre, in Kendal. Hugely accomplished cooking and very much recommended.’
Tony P, Kendal; Food Customer
The Cook’s Mind
This dish teaches you to take tofu seriously. It’s about coaxing crispness from each cube, handling sea vegetables with lightness, and letting acidity lift everything at the end. You’ll also get a feel for harmony – how umami, salt, sweetness, and citrus can play beautifully when the balance is just right. It’s a short recipe that builds a big skillset.
Make-Ahead
Tofu can be pressed and cooked ahead, but for best texture, pan-fry it just before serving. You could mix the sauce ingredients in advance and prepare the vegetables.
Freezer-Friendly
This isn’t freezer-friendly
Key Substitution Ideas
- Swap tofu for tempeh or even oyster mushrooms for variation.
- Use wakame or arame if hijiki is unavailable.
- Use frozen peas instead of edamame.
A Note on Origin
This dish nods gently to Japanese ingredients – hijiki, mirin, edamame – but it isn’t a traditional recipe. It’s more of a conversation: between flavour and feeling, inspiration and invention. The salt and pepper tofu itself has roots in Chinese cookery, while the lime and sweetness give it a twist that feels quietly cross-cultural in a very modern way.
Ingredient Focus: Hijiki
Hijiki is a Japanese sea vegetable, usually sold dried and rehydrated before use. It has a deep, slightly smoky flavour and a lovely chew that makes it perfect for sauces or side dishes. Look for small, wiry pieces that expand beautifully when soaked. It’s rich in minerals and brings a subtle oceanic note to plant-based cooking – bold but not overpowering.
✨ A taste of tide and twilight.
My Favourite Way to Eat
I’d serve this hot from the pan on a soft pile of rice, maybe with extra lime wedges and a bit of chilli on the side. Georgia lies nearby, tail gently tapping when she hears tofu hit the wok – though she knows she’s not getting the salty bits, I often save her a plain cube or two. It’s the kind of weeknight meal that feels like it should have taken much longer – a little clever, a little soothing, and full of flavour.
Multi-Purpose Recipe
This recipe has more than one life. Learn to use its elements across different dishes – and start thinking like a cook, not just a recipe follower.
The tofu can be used in wraps, noodle bowls, or cold in a packed lunch. The sauce works beautifully over steamed greens or tossed with soba noodles. Hijiki can be added to miso soup or salads, and if you’ve got leftover edamame, they’re lovely in a couscous or grain salad with herbs and lemon. Every part here is reusable and open to play.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s fast but deeply satisfying
- It hits every note – crisp, savoury, tangy, bright
- It uses tofu in a way that wins over even the sceptics
- It feels nourishing but not heavy
- It’s a brilliant meal to cook for someone you care about
What Will You Learn Whilst Making This Recipe?
- How to crisp tofu without deep frying
- How to rehydrate and cook with hijiki seaweed
- How to balance salt, sweetness and acidity in a sauce
- How to plate with contrast and colour
Handpicked to Go With This One
A few recipes that play well together — flavour friends, not just neighbours.
Waste Less: How To Use Up Your Ingredient Stash!
Got something spare – a handful, a spoonful, or the end of a packet? These tags help you find other ways to use it. It’s a small step toward cooking intuitively and wasting less❣️
butter, chinese 5 spice, edamame beans, fresh garlic, ground black pepper, hijiki seaweed, lime, lime juice, mirin, red onion, rice wine, shaoxing wine, soy sauce
Kerry’s Crispy Salt and Pepper Tofu with Hijiki and Mirin Sauce, Edamame and Lime Recipe
Kerry’s Crispy Salt and Pepper Tofu with Hijiki and Mirin Sauce, Edamame and Lime
Golden-edged tofu meets a glossy hijiki and mirin sauce in this balanced, umami-rich dish. Edamame add a pop of freshness, while lime zest brings lift and brightness. It’s textured, full of contrast, and deeply satisfying – with minimal effort and maximum flavour.
Photographed truthfully. If you cook it, yours will look like mine.
Ingredients
Ingredients for Step 1
- 26 g cornflour
- 6 g salt
- 1 tsp chinese 5 spice
- 2 g ground black pepper
Ingredients for Step 2
- 200 g firm tofu
Ingredients for Step 3
- 45 ml rice wine
- 7 ml soy sauce
- 1 tsp hijiki seaweed
- 5 ml mirin
- 2.5 ml lime juice
Ingredients for Step 4
- 15 ml rapeseed oil
Ingredients for Step 5
- 15 ml rapeseed oil
- 225 g red onion | peeled weight; peeled and cut into slender petals
- 1 pinch salt
- 15 g butter | unsalted
- 10 g garlic
- 100 g edamame beans | these must be defrosted if using frozen
Ingredients for Step 6
- 1 unit lime | cut the top and bottom off the lime, then cut wedges (far neater)
Instructions
1. Prepare the seasoned cornflour
- Mix the ingredients listed in a shallow bowl or tray. You will coat the tofu slices in the bowl/tray so choose something appropriate.26 g cornflour, 6 g salt, 2 g ground black pepper, 1 tsp chinese 5 spice
2. Prepare the tofu
- Ensure you have pressed tofu. The Cauldron brand might need pressing; ALDI Plant Menu doesn't need a press.Cut the tofu into slices 6mm thick and then into squares. Have a look at the picture, have a look at your block of tofu and plan the cuts. Please avoid having thin chunks. Batons would work well.200 g firm tofu
- Put the tofu slices into the seasoned cornflour and mix around to ensure the slices of tofu are properly coated. Leave for a few minutes on each side.
3. Mix the sauce ingredients
- In a small bowl or mug, mix the ingredients listed to make the sauce.45 ml rice wine, 7 ml soy sauce, 1 tsp hijiki seaweed, 5 ml mirin, 2.5 ml lime juice
4. Pan-fry the tofu
- Heat the oil in the frying pan on a medium heat. Ensure the oil is properly hot.15 ml rapeseed oil
- Add the tofu pieces, ensure the oil is sizzling and bubbling at the edges of the tofu and leave alone for a few minutes until the slices are browned evenly and crispy. You want a good texture and colour on the tofu.
- Turn over the tofu slices to brown the other side.
- Once cooked, turn off the heat and put the tofu on a plate covered with a piece of kitchen roll to absorb any spare oil.
5. Cook the veggies
- By the way, you'll be needing to put your rice on to cook, and getting your green veggies ready in a steamer before you start this step.Heat the oil in a clean frying pan oil over low/medium heat, add the onion petals and pinch of salt, and cook the onion petals. The onion petals should be cooked to retain bite, shape and crunch.15 ml rapeseed oil, 225 g red onion, 1 pinch salt, 15 g butter, 10 g garlic, 100 g edamame beans
- Add the butter, allow it to melt and toss the onions in the butter.
- When the onions are cooked, grate in the garlic and stir for a minute to cook the garlic. Avoid burning the garlic.
- Use kitchen tongs to add the tofu pieces to the pan, then add the defrosted edamame and quickly toss the pan to mix.
- Add the sauce and quickly toss the pan to mix.
- Stir-fry for a minute, to bring everything together.
6. Plate
- Serve on top of white rice and add some lightly steamed pak choy. Add a neat wedge of lime to squeeze over, and zest over some fresh lime to really make it sing!This dish is rich and it needs a green veg and a slice of lime.1 unit lime
Nutrition
Calories: 425kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 18gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 13gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.01gSodium: 1460mgPotassium: 543mgFiber: 7gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 163IUVitamin C: 21mgCalcium: 268mgIron: 4mg
Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on specific ingredients used. Nutrition is per serving. Information is for the main recipe, not optional accompaniments.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
COPYRIGHT
© The Golden Polar Bear, 2025. Recipes and photography by Julia Savory. If you share this, please pass it along with kindness and if possible share a link back to this site. #ForTheAnimals
Photographed truthfully. If you cook it, yours will look like mine.
Next Steps?
You’ve got the full recipe — now take it further. Inside Black Labrador, you’ll find structured video courses and an ever-growing cookbook designed to help you cook with understanding, not guesswork. Learn, revisit, and deepen your skills at your own pace.
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