Tina: Having Korean friends and neighbors has great benefits. We get to invite ourselves over for amazing dinners, and have access to a tour guide to the world of Korean cooking. Korean cuisine is similar to Vietnamese food in that a lot of small dishes are combined for one meal, which I love. This dish is influenced by my old neighbor Sungmee, who provided the kimchi, chili powder, seaweed, and cooking tips. My favorite way of enjoying this dish is to wrap lettuce or toasted seaweed into rolls stuffed with tofu, rice, kimchi, and pickled daikon & carrots. Dip the rolls in Korean dipping sauce and enjoy the lovely flavors.
Notes
You can press the tofu to drain the water out by sandwiching the tofu between two plates, with one or two books placed on the top plate to add weight. You can do this the day before (or at least an hour before) making the dish.
Recipe: Korean-style Spicy Tofu
4
servingsThis dish is influenced by my old neighbor Sungmee, who provided the kimchi, chili powder, seaweed, and cooking tips. My favorite way of enjoying this dish is to wrap lettuce or toasted seaweed into rolls stuffed with tofu, rice, kimchi, and pickled daikon & carrots. Dip the rolls in Korean dipping sauce and enjoy the lovely flavors.
Ingredients
- Tofu ingredients
2 onions, halved and sliced
2+1 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 pack extra firm tofu, drained
3 tablespoons ssamjang (Korean soybean paste)
⅓ cup water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon fishsauce
2 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean chili powder)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Cracked pepper
1 ½ cup snap peas or snow peas
- Dipping sauce ingredients
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 ½ teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
A dash of gochugaru (Korean chili powder)
Directions
- Heat sunflower oil (2 tablespoons) of on a pan over medium heat, and then sauté the onions for about 15-20 min. Set aside.
- Mix the ssamjang, water, soy sauce, fish sauce, chili powder, sugar, sesame seeds and cracked pepper in a small bowl, and set aside. Cut the tofu into approx. 24 to 28 rectangular long pieces. (about 3/8”x 5” x 3.5”)
- Heat the sunflower oil (1 tablespoon) and sesame oil on the pan, then add the tofu strips and fry them on both sides until crisp (in one or more batches). Add the sauce into the pan with the fried tofu, and stir while sautéing over medium heat for a few minutes until the tofu is coated with the sauce.
- Toss the sautéed onions and peas in with the tofu. Continue to sauté until the peas are slightly cooked. The tofu is ready to be served.
- Mix the dipping sauce ingredients and serve in a small dipping bowl.
