Hiyayakko or Japanese Cold Tofu is a perfect appetizer or side dish that you can whip up instantly! You‘ll love how smooth and silky it tastes. For many fun variations, feel free to switch up the toppings. Serve the tofu on a hot summer day and enjoy it with a cold beer. {Vegan/Vegetarian Adaptable}
Hiyayakko (冷奴) is Japanese cold tofu that is served as an appetizer or side dish. The silky smooth and creamy texture of the tofu helps to cool the body and makes a delightful respite on a sweltering day. It’s a popular dish to serve in the summertime along with Edamame. I remember my grandpa always started his summer meal with a glass of cold beer next to these two dishes.
Table of Contents
What is Hiyayakko?
Hiyayakko (冷奴 or ひややっこ) translates to cold tofu or chilled tofu in English. Hiya (冷) means chilled, and yakko (奴) refers to the traditional square block shape of the tofu.
Japanese cold tofu is usually enjoyed as an appetizer or side dish, especially in the summer months.
To prepare hiyayakko, you’ll need a block of soft or silken tofu. Medium or firm tofu is never used for this dish. The chilled tofu is typically served with various toppings, and a simple version includes green onions and katsuobushi (bonito flakes) along with grated ginger. You would drizzle a little bit of soy sauce right before eating.
Japanese Cold Tofu (Hiyayakko) is naturally a vegan/vegetarian dish. You just need to skip any non-vegan ingredients such as dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi), and top the tofu with tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, or other vegetables.
How to Make Hiyayakko
The Ingredients You’ll Need
- Soft or silken tofu – Do not use regular or firm tofu. Soft or silken tofu has a creamier and velvety texture and it’s ideal for hiyayakko.
- Green onions – They add a nice refreshing crunch texture.
- Ginger – I love this ceramic grater for grating ginger. Ginger adds a nice zesty flavor.
- Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) – It is full of umami, but feel free to skip for vegan.
- Soy sauce – Use tamari or gluten-free soy sauce for GF. Optionally, you can use ponzu or mentsuyu (noodle soup base).
The Preparation
Soft or silken tofu contains a lot more liquid than regular tofu, so you need to drain the tofu for at least 10 minutes. This allows the flavor of soybeans to come through. However, do not press the tofu because it will crumble easily. Also, we still need some remaining liquid to keep the tofu moist.
After draining, cut the tofu into smaller blocks. For a typical tofu package, I’d cut it into four pieces. In Japan, tofu packages tend to be slightly smaller, so you may want to cut them into two or four (but it will be a smaller portion).
Then top the tofu with toppings of your choice. Keep it chilled until you’re ready to serve.
How to Serve Hiyayakko
Always serve the cold tofu with a choice of your sauce, typically soy sauce. At the table, right before you eat, you would drizzle a little bit of soy sauce. You don’t want a pool of soy sauce sitting in a dish.
Cooking Tips
- Drain the tofu for 10 minutes. We’ll gently drain the tofu by wrapping it with paper towels, so the taste of soybeans becomes richer and more flavorful. Do not press the tofu.
- Chill the tofu until serving. Hiyayakko tastes the best when the tofu is super chilled! I usually serve it when everyone sits at the table and right before eating.
- Before you bring it to the table, have a quick check on the serving plates. If you see any water being released from the tofu, gently tilt the serving plate and discard the water.
Various Topping Ideas
We usually serve the chilled tofu with green onions, grated ginger, and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes). However, hiyayakko is a very versatile dish. As tofu is mild in taste, it complements an amazing range of flavors and textures. You can be creative with the toppings and sauce. Here are some ideas:
- Cherry tomatoes
- Shirasu (baby anchovies)
- Julienned shiso leaves
- Sweet corn
- Sliced cucumbers
- Wakame seaweed
- Crab meat
- Myoga (Japanese ginger)
- Wasabi
- Salmon Flakes
- Furikake (Rice Seasonings)
- All Purpose Miso Meat Sauce (Niku Miso)
Besides Japanese ingredients, I also like topping hiyayakko with my Homemade Quick Kimchi.
Other Sauce Options
Besides soy sauce, the following sauces are typically used.
A touch of sweet, salty, tangy, or spicy addition adds a nice contrast to plain tofu.
Try Hot Tofu in Winter
When it’s too cold to eat hiyayakko, try Hot Tofu (Yudofu)!
What to Serve with Japanese Cold Tofu
- Main: Teriyaki Chicken, Miso Salmon, Eggplant Agebitashi, and Zaru Soba
- Soup: Tonjiru (Pork and Vegetable Miso Soup) and Sanpeijiru (Salmon Miso Soup).
- Rice: Gyudon, Hijiki Rice, and Japanese Corn Rice.
- Sides: Japanese Spinach Salad with Sesame Dressing and Kinpira Gobo.
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Hiyayakko (Japanese Cold Tofu)
Ingredients
- 14 oz soft/silken tofu (kinugoshi dofu) (1 pack, chilled)
- 1 green onion/scallion
- ½ tsp ginger (grated; from a 1-inch, 2.5-cm knob)
- 4 shiso leaves (perilla/ooba) (optional; for decoration)
- 2 Tbsp katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) (skip for vegan/vegetarian)
- soy sauce (you can use ponzu or mentsuyu (noodle soup base) instead, but they are not vegan/vegetarian)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Drain 14 oz soft/silken tofu (kinugoshi dofu) for 10 minutes by wrapping a paper towel around it. You do not need to press the tofu in this recipe as you want to retain some moisture in the tofu. Be gentle when handling since silken (soft) tofu is very fragile.
- Meanwhile, prepare the toppings. First, thinly slice 1 green onion/scallion.
- Peel the ginger skin, grate the ginger (I use a ceramic grater), and measure ½ tsp ginger (with the juice).
- Once the excess liquid is drained, cut the tofu into 4 pieces.
- Put a shiso leaf on each serving dish and gently place one piece of tofu on top of each leaf. Top the tofu with green onions and grated ginger. Chill the tofu until right before serving.
To Serve
- Before you bring it to the table, quickly check the dish. If you see that the tofu has released more liquid, gently tilt the plate and discard the water. Divide 2 Tbsp katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) among the cut tofu pieces. At the table, drizzle with soy sauce or another sauce of your choice right before you enjoy.
To Make Variations
- You can also make your own variations with your favorite toppings. Popular toppings include cherry tomatoes, shirasu (baby anchovies), julienned shiso leaves, sweet corn, sliced cucumbers, wakame seaweed, and crab meat. It‘s also delicious topped with All-Purpose Miso Sauce or Crunchy Garlic Chili Oil (Taberu Rayu). Read more ideas in the blog post above.
To Store
- You can keep the leftover tofu in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for a day.
Nutrition
Update: This post was originally published on August 17, 2019. It’s been updated with more information and new step-by-step and final images on August 7, 2023.
I put together this dish for the first time today (terrible Summer heatwave outside), and honestly I didn’t expect much, but to my surprise, this was the dish that made me really understand the real taste of good quality tofu. It really HAS a delicious flavor! Maybe the fridge-cold temperature brings it out. Instead of ginger, I used fresh lime drops as topping, with green onions and soy sauce and it was sublime!
Hi Flora! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this dish! Yes, the quality of tofu is very important when it comes to a simple dish like this. Thank you for trying this recipe!!
[…] dishes. An easy one was to steam a slice of tofu, and top with soy sauce and chopped green onion (Hiyayakko – traditionally served chilled; skip the fish flakes for vegetarian version). Another was to […]
hello! i love your website! for this recipe and the topping of …dried wakame seaweed… do i just crumble it on top dry or hydrate it and chop it up??
Hi Grace! You must hydrate wakame if you’re using dried wakame. In Japan we have different types of wakame (non-dried, large wakame, etc etc) but usually outside of Japan, we only get dried ones. Unless it’s big, you don’t have to chop it up. 🙂
[…] the summer months, we eat Hiyayakko, which is a cold tofu as an appetizer or side […]
[…] is sexy and romantic. You can start the dinner with edamame and a side of agedashi tofu or Japanese chilled tofu before you serve the ramen, and finish up with some sake for a Japanese-theme […]
[…] enjoy tofu in Japanese cooking. We stir-fry, simmer, deep-fry, or steam tofu. We even eat it as Cold Tofu in the summer. One of the most popular tofu dishes you may already know is Agedashi Tofu, which is […]
I don’t know if someone already asked this, but just to double check, you don’t have to drain the tofu? Like, you don’t have to put a plate on top for the water to come out?
Hi Apple Girl! Once you drain tofu, it gets dehydrated. Unless you prefer that texture, usually cold tofu is quickly drained and served right away. If you don’t eat right away, water start to come out. But that’s just the way it is… so we usually prepare right before serving. 🙂
Does this dish taste the best with SOFT tofu, or does any firmness work? Does “Silken” always mean “soft”?
Hi Leila! Usually soft tofu. Yes, silken means soft. Depends on the tofu store/brands, softness varies. 🙂
What a perfect way to use up my silken tofu! It seems so simple I wasn’t expecting it to be anything special, but it’s so cool and refreshing and delicious! I added ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil, it was fantastic.
Hi Alison! Glad to hear you liked it! It’s a great addition to a main dish (when you need one more dish to the table), and it can be a good meal on a hot summer day when you don’t feel like eating. 🙂
Hi Nami, is it safe to eat an uncooked tofu? Usually i steam or fry the tofu.
All tofu is ready to eat out of the package.:) More about tofu in this article: http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/06/shopping-cooking-guide-different-tofu-types.html
your website was not helpful
Thank you Bob! 🙂
Hi Nami! Yesterday I saw Hirokazu Koreeda’s latest movie, Umimachi diary, have you seen it? It’s à story about three sisters who live in Kamakura, and a younger half sister who comes fr.o.m. Yamagata to live with them. In the movie, the sisters introduce their younger sister into eating raw chirimen jako on donburi or as a sandwich(?), is it more like a local tradition? This movie shows even another local tradition making plum wine (both sweet and sour, could it be umeshu? And a local summer festival with water fireworks that seems to be very popular?
Hi Genus! I didn’t know about this movie! I’m hoping that I can watch it online (or maybe Netflix?). I have to check it out! Thanks so much for letting me know. Yeah it should be Umeshu.
I’m now watching this after I watched the trailer…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBOK9x0d73U
I love eating cold tofu with just some Boruto flakes and masago.
Thanks for more topping ideas!!
Hi Darrian! You’re very welcome! 🙂
Hi Nami, I have been checking out some food blogs recently n chanced upon yours. I’m really impressed by ur dedication considering that u just started ur blog n iodate 3x a wk…with 2 young kids in tow 🙂
I love cold tofu too n wanted to share 3 ways that I do it…. Toppings options r a) crispy pork floss…this is stronger in taste n crispier than bonito flakes n very Sporean, b) chilled century eggs which are cubed, with a dash of spring onions, c) short thin strips of luncheon meat, bakedor fried till crispy…. I guess u can use ham or bacon n bake or fry for the same crispy crunch. Personally, I like the original taste of chilled tofu but family members may prefer seasoning sauce drizzled over tofu. I wld use a very simple combinationof sesame sauce with s lil oyster sauce, stirred till both r well mixed.
I know above suggestions r so un-Japanese so u may say they are ‘Singaporean localized’……. Will continue to chk out ur wonderful blog!
Hi Michelle! Thank you for finding my blog and I’m happy to hear you enjoy my blog. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your 3 ways of eating cold tofu! I’m sure everyone can take advantage of extra recipes from you – I love your Singaporean localized way!
Very Nice.
I have a question if you don’t mind! You suggest to be creative in using the toppings and that can goes limitless as you have shown. But what are the main essence of making this dish (as a guiding principles) – the freshness of the topping & tofu?, etc? Any tips on how to achieve the ‘balance’ between the tofu and the toppings?
Thanks
Hi Lee, Hiyayakko (cold tofu) is usually served in summer time and the main purpose of serving this appetizer is to refresh you and get some appetite before main course. I personally enjoy the cold tofu texture on my tongue, so I like simple toppings and seasonings. But let’s say if you like spicy sauce, that works fine too – as long as it goes with tofu. I wouldn’t put warm ingredients on top as it’s sort of defeat the purpose… I hope I’m answering your questions here… My kids’ focus is more on toppings so they go crazy with corns and hams. So it’s really up to you. If you use very good tofu, then I will keep it minimal – bonito flakes, green onions, ginger, and soy sauce to bring tofu flavor… Hope this helps. 😉