Place the firm tofu block on a large plate lined with a paper towel. Place another paper towel over the top, then another large plate. Place something heavy onto the plate (around 2-3kg) to squeeze out the excess water from the tofu for 30 minutes.
450 g firm tofu
Meanwhile make the dipping sauce to allow the flavours to infuse. Pour the soy sauce into a small dish, add in the freshly grated ginger and give it a quick stir.
½ tsp ginger, ¼ cup soy sauce
Drain any extra liquid from the tofu and pat it dry with a paper towel.
Break the tofu up with your hands into coarse lumps. Pulse in a food processor for 10-20 seconds to break it down into a finer texture. Note: Before processing, you’ll notice the tofu clumps don’t stick together, but after processing when you press down with a spoon it should hold, making it easier for you to shape into patties.
In a large mixing bowl add the processed tofu, potato starch, sugar, soy sauce, carrot, spring onion and mushroom (plus any other optional fillings like egg, burdock root, shiso leaves or edamame). Mix until well combined.
3 tbsp potato starch, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp soy sauce, ½ carrot, 1-2 spring onion / green onion, ¼ cup mushrooms, ¼ cup burdock root, 2-3 shiso leaves, ¼ cup edamame beans, 1 egg
Now it’s time to shape those tofu patties! We find a large, heaped spoonful of mixture is a good amount to make a patty just smaller than the size of your palm. Flatten out into a small disc, neaten up the edges and place them on a plate ready to cook.
In a deep pot or frying pan, add a thin layer of vegetable oil until the bottom is covered and crank it to a high heat. Note: We like to shallow fry this way, alternatively you can deep fry them OR baste them with oil and pop them in your air fryer!
vegetable oil
Once the oil is hot, gently place in your ganmodoki. Don’t overcrowd the pan, and cook in batches if necessary to keep your oil nice and hot! Cook for a few minutes per side until crispy and golden brown. Remove from the pan and drain on a plate lined with paper towel to soak out any extra oil.
Serve immediately with your soy and ginger dipping sauce, and enjoy!