I will not lie, this recipe is similar to an old dessert I did a while ago featuring a tahini panna cotta. but I wanted to feature Meiji tofu instead. Meiji tofu is a type of tofu made with double the amount of soy beans, resulting in a silkier texture and a more intense soy flavor. This recipe is all things soy, so I wanted to use that gorgeous Meiji tofu, along with miso, to create this super creamy panna cotta that is 100% vegan. Again, this wound up being a similar format to that recipe I posted years ago, also featuring the soy sauce caramel again, but I also use kecap manis, an Indonesian soy sauce made from reducing down soy sauce with brown sugar into a syrupy, molasses-like state, to really accentuate the soy flavor. And to add some texture so that this is not just soft and creamy on saucy, I made these cute kinako cookies; kinako is a toasted soybean powder that tastes like peanut butter. It is popularly used in Japanese desserts like warabimochi, but I love using it in other baked goods and pastries as well. In this case, these kinako cookies will add a nice crunchy texture. I also used a bit of hojicha(toasted green tea) powder in the cookies, to add another nutty, warming flavor to give this dessert the ultimate comforting feeling. While this is a cold dessert, it will have a warming effect when eating it due to the various ingredients that have either been roasted(miso paste, soy sauce) or toasted(hojicha, kinako powder). And the coolest part is that it wound up being vegan AND gluten-free!

For the components, we have a miso and Meiji tofu panna cotta, kinako-almond cookies, and soy-salted caramel. Three components, each with their own little challenges. With the panna cotta, since we are using tofu in the recipe, setting and unmolding these can be very tricky. If you freeze anything that is set with tofu, what will happen upon thawing is that the liquid will leech out, leaving your panna cotta or mousse a shriveled lump sitting in a pool of mystery water. The same thing can happen with yogurt too, and the gist of it is that when you freeze soft tofu or yogurt, the ice crystals from the liquid in those ingredients expand and break out from the solids, so when it thaws, that is why the liquid pools at the bottom of any frozen then thawed yogurt or soft tofu. I recommend oiling the sides of your molds and if you have either glass or metal molds, use those. I made the mistake of using a silicone muffin tin and the end result was…mostly a mess. Let’s just say I got one good panna cotta and the rest, I wound up blending up and pouring coffee over it to make myself a miso-Meiji tofu latte. The benefits with using a glass or metal mold is that you can submerge the exterior of the molds in hot water, after the panna cotta is set, and then the panna cotta becomes a lot easier to invert onto a plate or bowl. With the cookies, since they lack gluten and butter, the dough itself is quite delicate and temperamental. The longer you refrigerate or freeze the dough, the easier it is to work with, so just keep that in mind. With the caramel, it can be hard to caramelize soy sauce, since more often than not, you are looking for when the white granulated sugar turns an amber-brown color to indicate caramelization, but with soy sauce already being an amber-brown color, or in some cases, even darker than that, a sense of smell, coupled with a laser thermometer, become more vital for successfully caramelizing the sugar. So while the dessert is just three components, each can be very technical, but when executed well, you have a very tasty dessert on your hands.

Makes 2 panna cottas:
For the miso-Meiji tofu panna cotta:
1/2 cup soy milk
4oz Meiji tofu
1g white miso paste
1g vanilla bean paste
2 tsp agar agar
1/4 cup granulated sugar


In a blender, puree the soy milk with Meiji tofu and miso paste until fully broken down into a smooth, creamy liquid. Add that to a pot with everything else. Bring everything in the pot to a simmer over medium heat. Once everything is fully dissolved into the milk, take off heat and pour into 2 silicone muffin tins. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before carefully unmolding onto a plate. To unmolding, use an offset spatula or butter knife to release the panna cotta from the sides of the mold before turning onto a serving plate.

For the kinako-almond cookies:
1/4 cup kinako powder
1/2 cup almond flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp cold water
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
a pinch of salt

In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients together until they form a dough. Roll the dough into a log that is 1 inch in diameter. Freeze the dough for 20 minutes. Cut the dough into 1/8 inch-thick disks. Place the disks onto a parchment or silpat-lined sheet tray, spacing them 2 inches apart, and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes, rotating the baking tray halfway through the baking process to guarantee even baking.

For the soy-salted caramel:
2oz soy sauce
1oz kecap manis(Indonesian soy sauce)
2oz dark brown sugar
2oz soy milk

In a pot, heat up the soy sauce and dark brown sugar on medium-high heat until the sugar fully dissolves and the mixture begins to boil and reaches 275 degrees F on a thermometer. Add to the reduced sugar the soy milk and stir on low heat until everything is fully melted and combined.