Tofu Chikuwa

**Eat it plain with ginger and soy.** That is how it is served locally and it is the only way to notice that it is mostly tofu. Grilled or in oden it disappears into the sauce. **Book the hands-on session.** Shaping the paste onto a stick and grilling it takes about half an hour and needs arranging ahead rather than turning up. **Seven parts tofu, three parts fish.** That ratio has been held since the Edo period and is what makes it different. Cheaper industrial versions elsewhere shift it. **It does not keep long.** Fresh tofu chikuwa is a few days at most. It is not a souvenir to carry for a fortnight. **Combine with Karoichi.** The port fish market is a couple of minutes away in the same district.