Korean Pan-Fried Tofu with Spicy Sauce (Dubu buchim yangnyumjang)

My family goes out for Korean BBQ quite often, and we usually end up ordering an inappropriately large amount of meat (once my mom ordered enough bul kalbi for each person to have two - seriously?!) Although I do enjoy the sweet and savoury marinated meat, the sheer amounts of it make me appreciate the diverse flavours and textures in the banchan (appetizers) even more - the distinctive spicy-sour kimchi, the crunchy bean sprouts and daikon, the boiled potatoes in sweet sauce, and if you're lucky, sometimes you will find some slices of pan-fried tofu in spicy sauce. Golden and slightly crispy on the outside, soft and warm on the inside, and coated in a light, savoury sauce with just a bit of kick.

This recipe is from Maangchi, who is quite possibly the queen of Korean food bloggers. I haven't taken a good look at her site yet, but I'm sure if you can think of a Korean recipe, she has a post on it, with a video showing you how to do it to boot. I'd heard of her before via David Lebovitz, but never paid attention until B.'s sister forwarded a link to two of her tofu side dish recipes. We'd just been to Sura a few weeks prior and really liked their spicy pan-fried tofu appetizer (it's not part of the regular banchan like I've had at other restaurants, but that's kind of nice too because it means you get a bigger dish of it when you order it), and were delighted to find out that the dish could be easily duplicated at home!

The tofu is really simply pan-fried, so the secret is all in the sauce, which is actually a simple combination of sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, scallions and hot pepper flakes.


And to think I usually wait until I go out to a Korean restaurant for this? Not anymore.

Korean Pan-Fried Tofu with Spicy Sauce (Dubu buchim yangnyumjang)
Adapted from Maangchi
Serves 4 as an appetizer/side dish (2 as a main dish)

• 1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
  
• 350 g firm or medium-firm tofu*, sliced ¼" thick and dried with paper towel
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• 1 medium green onion, chopped
  
• 1 tsp (5 mL) hot pepper flakes
  
• 1 tsp (5 mL) sugar or honey
  
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) low-sodium soy sauce
  
• 2 tsp (10 mL) sesame oil
  
• Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

1. Heat vegetable oil in a wok or skillet. Arrange slices of tofu in a single layer in wok; cook on low heat until bottoms are golden, about 5-7 minutes. Flip tofu over and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Transfer cooked tofu to a serving plate.
   
2. Meanwhile, make the sauce by mixing together garlic, green onion, hot pepper flakes, sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl.
   
3. Spoon sauce evenly over tofu and sprinkle on sesame seeds, if desired. Serve warm.

*Maangchi's recipe calls for 10 oz (280 g) or "half a package" of tofu, but in the grocery store I could only find tofu in 300 g, 350 g, 454 g (1 lb) and 700 g packages. I ended up buying this kind.

 

Nutrition Info (per ¼ recipe): 133 calories, 10 g fat (1 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 3 g carbohydrate (0.3 g fibre, 1 g sugar), 9 g protein, 267 mg sodium.