First Look: The Tofu Recipe at Mame Japanese Has Been Passed Down for Five Generations

Tofu cooked at the table and simple homestyle dishes are at the heart of Mame Japanese, the new Mount Lawley restaurant from husband-and-wife team David Jung and Airi Yamamoto.

According to Jung, much of the “pure, simple, made-by-hand every day” menu has been inspired by Yamamoto’s grandmother.

“The basic concept for most things is from Airi’s [family home],” Jung says. “Every time we go to Japan, I gain five to six kilos. Her grandmother’s cooking skills are great. We are still getting some recipes from her.”

South Korean-born Jung worked for two years as a teppanyaki chef at Nobu Perth before becoming executive sous chef at Sushia Izakaya. He later ran his own Korean restaurants, which he sold last year to support his wife’s dream of sharing her family’s tofu with Western Australians.

Yamamoto’s father still runs the family tofu shop, Kiyotu-Ya, in downtown Tokyo. On each trip to Japan, the couple study at his side, learning how to make tofu using his 100-year-old family recipe. (Yamamoto is the fifth generation of her family to make tofu with this method.)

It begins with soy milk. It takes 500 millilitres to make a single serve of tofu. Jung and Yamamoto make four to eight litres of fresh soy milk each day, to cope with its short shelf life. They note that Australian soybeans aren’t as sweet as Japanese ones, but Yamamoto and Jung are happy to be supporting local growers.

“The most important thing is the nigari, the setting powder we get from Japan,” Jung says, joking that the white powder often raises eyebrows at the airport. It transforms the soy milk into pillowy curds of soft tofu, ready to eat with yukishio (snow salt) from Okinawa, dashi soy, and ginger miso made using Yamamoto’s grandmother’s recipe.

Although you’ll find classics like teriyaki, katsu and sashimi on the menu, Jung and Yamamoto are most passionate about their trio of signature dishes: tofu, obanzai and onigiri.

Serving obanzai is also a family affair. Yamamoto’s grandmother’s obanzai set comprises nine small dishes, ranging from pickled items and seasonal vegetables to fish and minced beef, all served in colourful glass and ceramic bowls inside a wooden box.

There are eight onigiri fillings to choose from, including grilled salmon and prawn tempura. To avoid soggy seaweed, Mame’s onigiri comes partially wrapped, lying on one flat piece of fresh nori for customers to finish wrapping themselves.

Mame’s omakase DIY temaki (hand rolls) are inspired by parties at Yamamoto’s house, where the couple would “buy nori, rice, prepare all different ingredients and wrap them up to eat like Vietnamese rice paper rolls.”

It’s not quite a trip to Japan, but eating regional classics under Mame’s illuminated cherry blossom tree just might come close.

Mame Japanese
5/80 Walcott Street, Mount Lawley
0493 370 136

Hours:
Mon 5.30pm–8.30pm
Wed & Thu 5.30pm–8.30pm
Fri & Sat 11.30am–2pm, 5.30pm–9.30pm
Sun 11.30am–2pm, 5.30pm–8.30pm

mame-japanese.com
@mamejapanese