Spicy Braised Tofu

Spicy Braised Tofu, or dubu-jorim! One of my favorite Korean foods to eat with some steaming, hot rice. You pan-fry tofu slices in a skillet until golden, then quickly braise them in a savory, sweet and spicy soy sauce mixture until they are full with flavor. It’s so good!

Social Media in 2022

It’s only January 5th and I already feel liberated. I’m trying to find joy again in creating content: for my blog, for social media, and for myself. Creating content, writing recipes, shooting videos and writing these blog posts is my creative outlet. I’m doing what I love and keeping is casual. I also feel like the “real life” videos are well received. This is nothing fancy. I am literally using my iPhone.

If I didn’t have this kind of an outlet, I think I would go a little crazy.

Plus, I get to cook and eat all the foods I love. 

As many of you can guess, Korean food is very personal to me. So, when someone wrote “Kimchee is just nasty” as a comment on one of my videos, it immediately made me feel bad. The other thing was, it was the only negative comment at the time. There could be more now ..  who knows. The video, at the time, had been viewed over 100,000 times and there were over 50 comments. Now there are 348.7k views and 187 comments. 

Anyway, it’s a new year and I thought I would start it off by sharing, what I think is social media / commenting etiquette in this response video. Thank you for the support and it makes me so happy that so many of you love Korean food! 

Spicy Braised Tofu

My tofu loving, non-meat eating friends are going to love this recipe. If you’ve had Korean food before, I’m sure you know what this is. Whenever this is in the ready made food section at Hmart, I always grab some. Hope you try the recipe and enjoy! 

Print Recipe

Spicy Braised Tofu, Dubu-Jorim

*I like my tofu spicy. Start with 1 1/2 tablespoons and increase to 2 if you want the heat

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Appetizer or Main

Cuisine: Korean

Keyword: dubu-jorim, spicy braised tofu, tofu

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 1 (14 oz.) block firm or extra-firm tofu drained and patted dry with paper towels
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce low sodium
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons Korean hot pepper flakes; gochugaru*
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil split
• 1 small onion chopped thin
• 2 green onions chopped diagonally or diced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 or 2 teaspoons sesame oil for garnish
• sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions

• Remove the tofu from the paper towels and slice into long pieces. Alternatively, you can slice into squares. Set aside. Whisk together the soy sauce, gochugaru, salt, sugar and water until combined and set aside.
• Using a non-stick pan over medium high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Once hot, carefully add the tofu in a single layer into the pan. Let cook, undisturbed, until golden brown, for about 5 to 6 minutes; turn over and cook until golden brown on other side, about another 5 minutes. Transfer tofu to a paper towel lined plate and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan.
• Add the onion, some of the green onions (reserve some for garnish at the end) and the garlic. Cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, for a few minutes. Carefully add the cooked tofu slices back into the pan.
• Pour the sauce over the tofu slices and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, flipping tofu once or twice and occasionally spooning sauce over, until sauce is reduced by about half, for about 3 to 4 minutes.
• To serve: plate the tofu, lightly drizzle with some sesame oil, garnish with the remaining green onions and sesame seeds and serve with rice! Enjoy!