Japanese Persimmon Tofu Salad (Kaki no Shiraae)

This Japanese persimmon tofu salad (柿の白和え/kaki no shiraae) features toasted walnuts and pieces of sweet, juicy persimmon enveloped in creamy tofu and sesame. This dish that is a beautiful presentation of autumn seasonal flavours. Elegant Japanese shiraae pairs wonderfully with white wine or sake.

this recipe

Do you love persimmon as much as I do? This Japanese fall persimmon salad is a light and refreshing dessert salad that features the delicious fruit.

Jump to:

• What is shiraae?
• Ingredients
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Instructions
• Equipment
• Storage
• FAQ
• 📖 Recipe

What is shiraae?

Shiraae (白和え) is a Japanese-style salad dressed with mashed tofu and white sesame and/or white miso. It is an elegant dish that can be found served at home, as well as in high-end kaiseki restaurants (restaurants that serve traditional, multi-course Japanese meals) in Japan. The earliest known record of shiraae is a recipe that dates back to 1643.

The persimmon is an autumn signature in this cuisine, as it is in season between October and November. It tastes wonderful in this shiraae dish. Moreover, it looks very impressive when served in a hollowed out persimmon bowl.

The word 'shiraae' is pronounced 'shi-ra-ah-eh.' It comes from the combination of 'shiro' (白 - white) referring to the tofu in the dish, and 'ae' (和え - to dress or season). Combining the two changes the pronunciation of 'shiro' to 'shira.' And the resulting word means [vegetables] dressed in tofu.

Shōjin ryōri

Shiraae is a type of 'Shōjin ryōri' (精進料理), the traditional cuisine of Japanese Buddhist monks. This cuisine was popularized by the wide spread of Zen Buddhism in Japan in the 13th century. Following Buddhist traditions, this cuisine is completely vegan - made without any animal products. Also, it avoids using strong flavours, such as onion or garlic.

Typically, a soybean-based food, like tofu, is used to provide protein in the diet. And it is served along with seasonal vegetables and fruit that are packed with flavour and nutrition. Far from bland, the meals are colourful and feature a variety of flavours that come naturally from the plants used, rather than added as seasoning.

Ingredients

• Persimmon - Persimmon has a taste of its own: sweet, rich, and tangy. Persimmon needs to be ripe to taste good. An unripe persimmon will be firm. A ripe persimmon will be quite soft, kind of squishy feeling like it might burst through the skin soon.
• Firm tofu
• Spinach - Or, garland chrysanthemum greens.
• Soy sauce
• Walnuts - We will toast these, enhancing the nutty flavour and aroma, and adding a nice crunch to the dish to contrast the soft persimmon and tofu.
• Granulated sugar
• White sesame paste
• Salt - You add salt to this dish to balance out the sweetness of the persimmon. Add it according to your taste preference and the sweetness level of your persimmon.
• Toasted white sesame seeds

See the recipe card below for quantities.

white sesame paste

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soy sauce

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Substitutions

Firm tofu - Use firm tofu is you want little pieces of tofu remaining, or use silken tofu if you want a creamier dressing.

Spinach - Japanese persimmon tofu salad is often made using garland chrysanthemum greens, rather than spinach. The bitter chrysanthemum balances well with the sweet persimmon. However, for the sake of ease in finding ingredients for my readers outside of Asia, I made mine with spinach. You could use either.

White sesame paste - You can substitute it in this recipe with a tablespoon of ground white sesame seeds.

Variations

While Japanese persimmon tofu salad contains persimmon and spinach or chrysanthemum greens, there are many other variations of shiraae that use other vegetables. Here are some of the other vegetables you can use instead:

• Green beans
• Julienned carrot
• Konjac
• Hijiki seaweed
• Edamame beans
• Broccoli
• Broccolini
• Shimeji mushrooms

Instructions

Note: You add salt to this dish to balance out the sweetness of the persimmon. Add it according to your taste preference and the sweetness level of your persimmon.

Serve the Japanese persimmon tofu salad immediately, sprinkled with toasted white sesame seeds.

How to make persimmon bowls

If you plan to serve the shiraae in a beautiful persimmon bowl, you will need two persimmons to hollow out.

Cut the top of the persimmon off to form a lid. And cut the very bottom of the persimmon off to give a flat surface to stand evenly on.

Using a spoon, carefully scoop the flesh out of the persimmon.

Note: You can use the scooped out flesh from one of these persimmons in the shiraae. I used the extra fruit for snacking.

Spoon the shiraae evenly into your two persimmon bowls and sprinkle them with some toasted white sesame seeds.

Equipment

To make this recipe you will need the following:

• Medium-sized sauce pan
• Paper towel
• Skillet
• Mortar and pestle or suribachi and surikogi
• A very sharp knife - The knife will have to be quite sharp to cut through the tender, ripe persimmons cleanly to create the persimmons bowls.

Note: A suribachi and surikogi set is the Japanese version of a mortar and pestle. The suribachi (すり鉢) is a glazed pottery bowl with an unglazed, rough pattern inside that assists with grinding. And the surikogi (すりこぎ) is a pestle made of wood to avoid excessive wear.

mortar and pestle

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suribachi and surikogi

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Storage

You could store leftover shiraae in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, but I really recommend that you eat it right away because of the juicy persimmon. It will be best fresh.

FAQ

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