When I sent out a call for tofu dishes from around the world for my “5 Tofu Dishes From 5 Countries” series, I was thrilled to get an authentic Japanese recipe. This recipe comes from Mika, and it’s known as Itokoyaku.

Mika lives in San Diego, and this dish is popular on her mom’s side of the family. Mika’s mother is full Japanese, but was raised in Brazil before moving to the United States. Itokoyaku is essentially a very simple tofu and noodle dish.

Mika’s itokoyaku involves cutting tofu into cubes and then placing them into boiling water to blanch. Then, take special shirataki noodles and blanch them in the same water as the tofu. Once the blanching is complete, simply mash up the tofu. Mika says that some people like to cut up the noodles before serving, but in many cultures, this can mean bad luck. So, Mika prefers her noodles whole. 

This recipe has been passed down through three generations of women in her mother’s family. Interestingly, each matriarch has their own special addition to the dish. Mika’s mother seasons her itokoyaku with just sesame oil, while Mika’s mother adds soy sauce. Mika’s grandmother doesn’t use soy sauce because she says it turns the tofu a dark brown color. Mika’s own additions to this dish are MSG and chili oil. Mika suspects that her grandmother puts in MSG but doesn’t tell her grandkids so that her special “grandma’s touch” is preserved!

This dish works as a great side dish or easy lunch. Mika loves itokoyaku because it’s so simple to make and yet super nutritious: the tofu is very high in protein and low in fat.

I saw that this dish has shirataki noodles and had to try it. I love shirataki noodles! A few years ago, I found myself completely obsessed with their funky texture. The tofu and shirataki noodles work great together. The main flavor you taste is whatever you seasoned the dish with, so in my case, I taste the flavor of the sesame oil. This dish is very pure and makes me wonder how anyone could dislike tofu. The tofu is such a perfect vessel for soaking up all of the flavors around it. I definitely wish that I had added chili oil to this dish. When making this dish, rinse and blanch the shirataki noodles because they have a very strong mushroom-like smell, which can be off-putting for some people.