Spicy Braised Tofu (Dubu Jorim)

This dish is super easy to put together and is great as a meal on it’s own or as an appetizer. This is the kind of dish you’d want to have with a bowl of rice.

INGREDIENTS

2 packs of medium-firm tofu, cut into medium sized pieces

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

1-2 tbsp gochugaru (korean chili pepper flakes)

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp chicken bouillon powder (optional)

1 tbsp sesame oil

1-2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

1-2 stalks of green onion, chopped

3/4 to 1 cup water

DIRECTIONS

In a bowl, combine all ingredients except for the tofu, sesame seeds, and the green parts of the chopped green onion and set aside. You will end up with something that’s like a spicy sauce/paste.

For the tofu, drain the liquid from the package and rinse under water. Using paper towels, pat down the tofu as much as possible to get rid of the excess liquid that’s absorbed by the tofu. Cut the tofu into medium sized pieces. I was able to cut my tofu first into 4 pieces and then I halved each one, creating 8 medium sized pieces from one of the packages, for a total of 16 pieces altogether.

Pan-fry the tofu until all sides are slightly golden brown, and set aside atop of paper towel to drain the excess oil.

In a small-medium sized pot, place a single layer of tofu on the bottom of the pot, and then spread a bit of the spicy sauce/paste on each of the tofu, along with some chopped green onions (reserve some for later to use as garnish as well) and sesame seeds sprinkled over top. Repeat this again with the remainder of the tofu. If there is extra sauce, just pour the rest over top.

Next, add just enough water to barely cover the top of the tofu, about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of water. Pour the water around the edge of the pot instead of directly on top, so that some of the sauce remains on top of the tofu. Place the lid on the pot and set the stove on high heat. Once the pot comes to a boil, bring it down to medium heat and allow it to braise for about 10-15 minutes. If the heat is a bit too much, you can adjust it to medium-low heat. Half-way through the braising process, spoon the sauce from the bottom to the top of the tofu.

You can serve the tofu directly from the pot or serve it on a plate. Add some more fresh chopped green onions and sesame seeds on top.

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