I first had inariage (fried seasoned tofu pockets, they have a nice salty and lightly sweet flavor) from a can when I was in high school. I made a friend my senior year who found out I liked Japanese culture and cooking, so she came over one day and thought it would be fun to make Japanese food. She taught me to make inarizushi, which stuffs these fried seasoned tofu pouches with sushi rice. It was all very strange and new to me but I liked the sweet-salty soy sauce flavor. I first had home cooked ones at my host family's house several years later, and that's when I knew for sure I loved them. It turns out freshly cooked inariage taste way better than canned ones (who knew? lol). In Japan, most people buy the tofu already fried and season it themselves. I have been able to find it where I live at Asian markets, and I have tried other recipes for seasoning them before that were just OK, but this one from JOC tastes just like I remember my host mom's.
The initial step of dousing the inariage with boiling water to remove some oil is absolutely essential. I skipped this one time I made them because I was lazy, and I regretted it. However, when you're draining them, don't squeeze them completely dry or they end up kind of bland.
For the kitsune udon, I couldn't find narutomaki so I used red kamaboko instead (they're basically made out of the same thing and taste the same, they're just shaped and colored differently) and I think this worked well.
Verdict: I thought both of the recipes were delicious, and would definitely make them again!
RECIPE: Inariage (Seasoned Fried Tofu Pockets)
RECIPE: Kitsune Udon (Udon Noodle Soup with Fried Seasoned Tofu)
