Here’s a simple Korean recipe for tofu. Whenever I need a recipe for Korean food the first place I look is Maangchi’s site.
A friend told me about Maangchi. She’s very, very popular on Youtube and she even has her own podcast on iTunes and I’ve subscribed to it and have downloaded several videos. This is the first recipe of hers I’ve tried and it was very good. I plan to try more of her recipes soon.
I bought the red pepper powder and firm tofu in a Korean store. I’m sure it’s available in most stores. If not I think any red pepper flakes will do. This brand I bought was very mild. I doubled the quantity in my recipe. It’s up to your taste on how much you want to put so I suggest you start with 1 teaspoon and add accordingly.
Next time I will buy better tofu from The Tofu Store.
Add all the ingredients in a small bowl. Taste it and you can adjust the sweetness or spice level.
Dry the tofu on paper towels. If you have time you can put the whole block of tofu in between a clean dish cloth and top it with a weighted plate in the refrigerator to take out more liquid. The tofu will be crisper when you fry it since there is less water left.
Fry the tofu in some hot oil. Lower the temperature right after putting the tofu in the oil.
I liked it really brown (tostado) and I blotted out as much oil as I could.
This was how I ate it as part of my Cohen diet. It was really delicious with a side of baby bok choy and fresh mushrooms. Before Cohen dieters write to me, I know some of the ingredients in the sauce are not allowed but this was my little cheat. 😀
You can also eat the tofu with beef and rice. It’s a simple and impressive side dish.
Here’s Maangchi’s video on this recipe. There is another recipe for tofu on the video and on her website. I plan to try that too.
Panfried tofu with spicy sauce (adapted from Maangchi)
(Dubu buchim yangnyumjang)
Half package of tofu (about 10 oz or 280 grams)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1-2 tsp Korean red pepper powder (hot pepper flakes)
1 tsp sugar or honey
1 green onion, chopped (I didn’t have any so I omitted it)
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 tsp sesame oil
roasted sesame seeds
1. Slice the tofu into ¼ inch thick pieces. Blot dry with a paper towel or two.
2. Heat a pan with 1 to 2 tbs of vegetable oil. Add the tofu and lower the heat. Cook over low heat about 5-7 minutes until golden brown. Flip the tofu and cook for another 5 minutes. Transfer fried tofu to paper towels to remove excess oil.
3. Combine all the ingredients except for the sesame seeds and spoon the sauce on the tofu. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top of the sauce just before serving.
Shoot First Eat Later 