Korean fried tofu (dubu gangjeong)
Crunchy fried tofu tossed in a sticky, sweet and spicy gochujang glaze with garlic and sesame, the Korean street snack turned into a full rice dinner.
- 45 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $2.32 a serving
- 910 calories
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 package extra-firm tofu, drained
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 2 tbsp gochujang
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ½ cucumber, thinly sliced
- 2 stalks green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)
From your pantry
- 1½ cups water
- ¼ tsp salt, divided
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1½ tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
Each serving has about 910 calories, 33 g protein, 114 g carbs and 36 g fat, and costs about $2.32 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No extra-firm tofu? Firm tofu works.
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No cucumbers? English cucumbers or mini cucumbers work.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Wrap the tofu in a clean towel and press it under something heavy for 15 minutes.
Timer: 15 min
Dolly’s tip: Dry tofu is the secret to a coating that stays crunchy under the glaze.Meanwhile, the rice and bring it in a small with 1½ cups water and of salt over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
High heat
Stir once, cover, and cook on low for 15 minutes. Take it off the heat and leave the lid on.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
the gochujang, soy sauce, brown sugar and vinegar in a small bowl until smooth.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Cut the tofu into 1-inch and with the cornstarch and of salt until thickly coated.
Cube. Cubing means cutting food into chunky, even squares, usually three quarters of an inch to an inch. Same-size cubes cook at the same speed and brown on every side.
How you’ll know: Your pieces look like a handful of sugar cubes, a little bigger than diced, all close to the same size.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Heat the oil in a large nonstick over medium-high heat until it .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Medium-high heat
Fry the tofu, turning every few minutes, until and on most sides, about 12 minutes.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 12 min
Food safety: Tofu is safe to eat straight from the package; cooking is only for texture and flavor.
Move it to a plate.
to medium, add the garlic to the oil left in the pan, and stir 30 seconds, .
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heat
Pour in the sauce and let it bubble about 1 minute, until thick and glossy.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Dolly’s tip: Gochujang has sugar in it and scorches easily. As soon as it bubbles thickly, move on.Turn off the heat, add the tofu and sesame oil, and until every piece is coated.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Serve over the rice with the cucumber on the side, and scatter the green onions and sesame seeds on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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