Today’s recipe is dubu-jorim (spicy braised tofu). It’s tofu braised in a savory-spicy sauce and pan fried with caramelized onion, garlic, and green onions, making it juicy, a little spicy, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It’s a delicious side dish for rice, noodles or porridge, and tastes meaty even though it’s a totally vegetarian dish.
This is something you can easily put together in a short amount of time that will please pretty much everybody, and especially vegetarians. You can refrigerate any leftovers for up to 3 to 4 days! This dish is good hot or cold, so you don’t even need to heat it up again if you don’t want to, just bring it out and serve.
It’s also a standard in Korean dosirak (lunchbox) item because it keeps well until lunchtime and it gives any meal a little kick. Enjoy the recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 package of tofu (18 ounces: 510 grams)
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ cup minced onion
- 2 green onions, chopped
For the sauce, mix in a small bowl:
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
- ½ cup water
Directions
- Rinse tofu in cold running water and dry it with cotton or paper towel. Cut it into ¼ inch thick bite size pieces.
- Add the cooking oil to a non-stick pan and heat it up over high heat.
- Gently set the tofu onto the pan and cook for 7 to 8 minutes. Rotate the pan to cook the tofu evenly. When the bottoms get a little crunchy, flip them over one by one with a spatula. Let cook another 7 to 8 minutes until both sides of each tofu piece are a little crispy and golden brown.
- Transfer the tofu to a plate. Keep the leftover oil.
- Heat up a small pan over medium high heat and add the leftover oil.
- Add chopped onion, garlic, and green onion (less 1 tablespoon, to be used for a garnish later). Stir with a wooden spoon for a few minutes until the onion gets a little crispy.
- Add the sauce and keep stirring until it reduces a bit and thickens.
- Add tofu and braise for a minute until the tofu absorbs some of the flavor of the sauce. Add some toasted sesame oil and stir.
- Sprinkle some sesame seeds over top and the rest of the chopped green onion. Serve right away with rice.
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Omg! So delicious. Vegetarian food is time consuming sometimes and here is this tasty, simple and long lasting dish. I don’t know how I have survived without it.
Thank you Maanngchi for sharing these recipies. My husband is Korean and I am Guatemalan and its nice to be able to cook with him his favorite dishes.
Thanks for this recipe!
After 3.5 years of living in Korea and now moving back to the US, I was craving this. It turned out really well and my family liked it too!
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That’s a great choice of these 2 side dishes with rice. It’s a well-balanced, healthy, delicious meal.
Made this today and it was delicious. All of your recipes are delicious and easy to make.
Thank you for sharing the.
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Wow, looks mouth-watering!
Hello Maangchi, we have cooked it many times and we love it! Wonderful recipe, easy to cook!
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Gorgeous presentation!
I have followed your recipe and I made it for my family and they all enjoyed it , it had a lot of flavour and I really enjoyed it , thx for posting this delicious treat
Mmm! The deep fried tofu cubes worked great and made this already quick to prepare recipe even quicker!
I’m glad it worked nicely!
Hi Maangchi!
I’ve made this recipe a few times now…my kids and I all enjoy it very much. I’m going to try it with deep fried tofu cubes next…not traditional, I bet, but it should work. I’ll report back whatever the result is. Thanks for this recipe and for this site which has made Korean food accessible to me and my family! I’ve tried several recipes and am enjoying exploring Korean food with you as my guide.
I made it yesterday for dinner
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I know this is late, but I just found this photo. It looks great! Gorgeous! : )
Hi Maangchi, is it okay if i use hot pepper paste instead of hot pepper flakes?
3rd time making it! Loved it, especially with the marinated green onion and kimchi with a side of rice. But definitely add more chili flakes for color and spiciness next time.
Made my lunchbox for a couple of days. I love korean food being an American and love the spoon fork guy on korean television! Spice is nice!! Thanks for the recipe Maangchis!. ;) jin jin
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Jin Jin,
It looks great! What a coincidence! I made it a couple of days ago, too!
Haha. Yes my korean fiancee showed me this recipe because I was craving korean food and it it simple to make. Thanks again!!
I made this today, and used 2 tablespoons of mirin instead of sugar, and it was delicious. Thank you Maangchi for sharing this wonderful recipe with your viewers! :D
Hi Maangchi,
I tried your recipe today and it is so delicious , plus this vegetarian recipe is really a budget friendly. My husband and I really enjoyed it. Thank you.
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Hi Maangchi
Thank you for the awesome recipe, tried it tonight and this will definitely be a new favorite, so tasty!
Didn’t have sesame seeds so I drizzeled sesame oil on top, still very delicious!
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I decided to make this today for my mom and sister who are both vegetarians. Both of them loved it and want me to make it again soon, Thank you!
Hello Maangchi from the Phils. Tried this side dish with some squid and fish balls. Great partner for my grilled beef.
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Yes! It’s such a nice combination!
Hi Maangchi,
I’ve been watching your channel for about 2 years now, and you inspire me to cook more Korean dishes. This was the first dish I was brave enough to make and I can’t get enough of it! I’ve made it 2 times this week already!
Just try making this for dinner today. Great recipe!
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It looks so soft, juicy, and savory! Delicious!
A tsp of gochujang in the sauce mixture makes it even better. I’ll omit the salt next time, though.
I just made this and it was delicious! It was super easy and I had a lot for left overs! I’m in love with the recipe and I am definitely going to make it more often!
What firmness of tofu do you recommend? Firm? Medium? Thanks so much!
I use medium firm tofu. Good luck!
Thank you soo much for this recipe! Ever since I went vegetarian I’ve been loosing too much weight because I could never find easy and delicious food to make. But ever since I found your channel I’ve been eating more and getting more energy! ✨
This recipe makes a great lunch when I’m at school and trying to stay awake and focused!
PS: While I was cooking this my whole family (who hates tofu and spicy food) kept saying “what smells good? ” Then my dad tried it and loved it who always said he hated tofu!
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Wow it sounds like you changed your family to like tofu! It looks crispy but also juicy! “This recipe makes a great lunch when I’m at school and trying to stay awake and focused!” Really? When I need to focus on something, I will make this dish and think about you. : )
hi maangchi!
i heard you can enhance this dish by coating the tofu with flour and egg before pan frying. is this true? have you tried it before?
thanks!
warren
Just made this recipe, it’s so delicious! I’ll definitely make this again sometime soon. (￣∀￣)
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It looks very delicious!
I made this yesterday. Very easy and very tasty. I think I cut my tofu too thin or else my oil was too hot because it cooked to golden brown in more like 3 minutes per side. I can’t wait to make more Korean food!
Hi Maangchi,
Thank you for all the yummy recipes. I made the braised spicy tofu last night and I’m having it for lunch too!
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Your braise tofu looks so delicious, crunchy outside and juicy inside! https://www.maangchi.com/photo/dubujorim-made-by-jocelyn
Hi~ Maangchi, your recipes are so wonderful. In my opinion, all recipres from Korea must be hard to do but it seems i was wrong.
Thank you very much for all gorgeus and tasty recipes.
Very easy to make. I cooked the tofu in two batches and then braised it together as one batch. Even my mother who had said she would never even try tofu ate it and actually asked for a bit more on her plate. I cut the tofu more into strips than squares so it had more crispy edges.
Was also tasty cold the next day at work.
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I love your videos Maangchi! Thank you for showing us how to make Korean dishes, and especially thank you for giving us substitutions if we don’t eat meat or we need to make something less spicy!
P.S. My favorite part of your videos is the cute text that you add :)
Taste so yummy…love the recipe much, i just miss sesame seeds..but the taste was great
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It looks very tasty! Great photo,too!
Thanks you
Hola Maangchi
Me encantan tus recetas gracias por colocar subtitulos en espanol.
I used chilli powder because I didn’t have pepper flakes. Now it’s not as red but it still tastes very good.
Thank you for this delicious recipe Maangchi!! My sister and I enjoyed it very much : )
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I’m glad you and your sister like this recipe. It looks wonderful! I make this very often.
For how many servings is this recipe? I have only 250 grams tofu and I’ll do it for today’s dinner with some chicken and maybe rice, or noodles. Will this amount of tofu be ok for three servings?
Thank you for your recipes
Hi Maangchi,
Thank you so much for all your gorgeous recipes!!!
Can I ask you for the brand of the indoor small butane gas stove you use in your videos? I want to get one for myself also!