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Dubu Jorim Korean Braised Tofu

By NicklausWritten

Browned tofu slices finished in a gochugaru and soy braise, with scallions, sesame and enough sauce to spoon over rice.

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Recipe

Total time
About 30 minutes
Method
Skillet
Difficulty
Easy
Allergens
Soy · Sesame · Wheat may be present in soy sauce

About 4 side servings with rice

Allow roughly 30 minutes; this is an estimate, and extra batches take longer. Have rice ready separately. Contains soy and sesame; soy sauce may contain wheat.

Equipment: Cutting board, knife, clean towel, small bowl, measuring spoons, 12-inch nonstick skillet, broad spatula, spoon and a plate for batches.

Ingredients

  • 500 g firm block tofu, drained; not silken tofu
  • 1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil
  • 3 tablespoons regular soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons water, plus small splashes as needed
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes), or 1 teaspoon for less heat
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Method

  1. Slice and dry the tofu

    Cut the tofu into broad slices about 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) thick. Blot both faces with the clean towel. Keep the slices intact.

    Convert a measurement for this step

  2. Mix the braising sauce

    Stir together the soy sauce, measured water, sugar, gochugaru, garlic and half the scallions. Keep the remaining scallions and both sesame ingredients for finishing.

    Convert a measurement for this step

  3. Brown both faces

    Warm the neutral oil over medium heat. Lay the tofu in a single layer, working in batches if needed and dividing the oil between batches. Leave each face until lightly golden and it releases under the spatula, then turn gently. Lower the heat if it scorches.

    Convert a measurement for this step

  4. Braise and spoon over the sauce

    Return all tofu to the skillet, overlapping slightly if necessary. Lower to medium-low and pour in the stirred sauce. Keep it gently bubbling, spooning sauce over the slices and turning them carefully once. Stay at the pan. When the tofu is hot throughout and coated, leave a little spoonable liquid; add a splash of water if the pan dries before then.

    Convert a measurement for this step

  5. Finish with sesame and scallions

    Turn off the burner. Drizzle over the toasted sesame oil and scatter on the sesame seeds and reserved scallions. Spoon the tofu and sauce into a serving dish alongside your prepared rice.

    Convert a measurement for this step
Watercolor illustration of browned tofu slices in red-brown sauce with scallions and sesame, beside a bowl of rice
Dubu jorim with chili-soy sauce, scallions and sesame. Serving illustration.

Keep some rice within reach for the sauce at the bottom of this dish. Dubu jorim is Korean braised tofu: broad slices with browned surfaces, a tender middle and chili-speckled soy sauce. The skillet does two jobs, first coloring the tofu and then holding the short braise.

The thicker slices and simple braising sauce adapt Hyosun’s dubu jorim at Korean Bapsang. This version uses more gochugaru and less sesame oil, adding the oil at the end as in Maangchi’s dubu-jorim. Their recipes show two approaches to the same side dish.

Give the slices room

Choose ordinary firm block tofu; the tofu guide explains how it differs from silken styles. A broad spatula is useful here because the slices need support when you turn them.

When increasing the serving count, plan on more browning batches. Crowding all the slices into the first panful makes it harder to see which faces have colored. A larger pan also loses liquid differently, so watch the sauce instead of multiplying a cooking time.

Choose the heat before the pan is hot

Use gochugaru, the Korean pepper flakes, for the sauce. Start with the smaller amount if you prefer less heat; brands and peppers vary. Gochujang is a seasoned paste and would change the mixture, so it is not a spoon-for-spoon replacement here. The gochujang guide covers that separate ingredient.

The finished tofu is braised, so its browned surfaces will soften in the sauce. For a meal built around a drier sear and fresh aromatics, try tofu with ginger and scallions. With this dish, keep enough sauce to spoon over the rice without reducing it to a salty film.

Save the sauce with the leftovers

Pack the tofu and sauce in a shallow covered container. FDA guidance calls for refrigerating leftovers within two hours, keeping the refrigerator at 40°F (4°C) or below, and using leftovers within three to four days. If reheating, bring the tofu to 165°F (74°C) throughout, as specified for leftovers by FoodSafety.gov. A splash of water will loosen sauce that has thickened in storage.

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