Vegan dumplings for every Buddhist monk

Considering how common tofu appears in Japanese cuisine, you would expect tofu dishes to be fairly standard wherever you go in the country. That’s not the case for this light and fluffy fried dumpling.

People in the Kansai region usually call this dish hiryōzu or hirōsuwhile people in the Kanto region call it ganmodoki. Nowadays both names refer to the same dish with some variations, but that was not always the case. Ganmodoki means ‘like a wild goose’ and originated during the Edo period (1603-1868) as a dish within shōjin ryōri (traditional vegetarian Buddhist cuisine) — ground konnyaku (devil’s tongue) and mixed vegetables, fried to taste, such as goose. On the other hand, the name “hiryōzu” comes from the Portuguese word “philhos“, which refers to a type of sweet, fried, flower-shaped fritter.

Whatever you call these tasty dumplings, feel free to mix any chopped vegetables into the tofu base, in addition to those in the recipe. For a non-vegan twist, you can use an egg as a binder instead of grated yamaimo (yam). Don’t worry if the dumplings turn out a little misshapen, but for visually appealing dumplings, you can drain the tofu longer or add more starch to the mixture.