This gochujang tofu is a delicious combination of Korean gochujang and crispy baked tofu. It is spicy, flavorful, and perfect if you love gochujang-based marinades! Serve it over white rice and with other side dishes of your choice for a filling and satisfying meal.
This gochujang tofu recipe is perfect for turning plain tofu into a delicious dish that tastes amazing with white rice and Korean side dishes (called "banchan"). It uses a marinade that is similar to the one that is often used to make Korean fried chicken. But instead of chicken, this recipe uses crispy baked tofu.
It's a super tasty dish that I recommend trying even if you aren't vegetarian. Plus, it's super easy to prepare!
And if you are looking for more tofu recipes, I highly recommend taking a look at my dubu jorim (Korean braised tofu), too! It's super flavorful and part of my weekly dinner routine as it's so good!
Gochujang Tofu Ingredients
To make gochujang tofu you'll need the following ingredients:
- Tofu: You can use either firm or extra-firm tofu. Extra-firm tofu has the least amount of water and is quite dense while firm tofu is softer. Just pick the one that you like as both work for this recipe.
- Aromatics: Garlic, ginger, and green onion are used to add flavor to the sauce and the tofu so be sure to use them!
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch is used to cover the tofu so that it turns out crispy. It's also great for making the tofu absorb more of the sauce. You could also use potato starch.
- Gochujang: Gochujang is a Korean red pepper paste that is used for many Korean recipes. It's available in any Asian or Korean grocery store or online. When you buy it, I'd recommend getting mild or medium-hot gochujang.
- Ketchup: Ketchup is used for the gochujang marinade as it adds a hint of sweetness, acidity, and balance. I don't use a lot in this recipe, so it's not too noticeable.
- Soy sauce: You'll also need soy sauce for the marinade.
- Mirin: Another ingredient that you'll need is mirin. It's a sweet Japanese cooking wine that adds to the flavor of the gochujang sauce. You can find it in any Asian grocery store or online.
- Honey: Honey is used as a sweetener for the sauce. If you don't want to use honey, you can use another sweet syrup for the sauce. Rice syrup would be another delicious option.
How to make gochujang tofu
Preheat the oven. First, preheat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C).
Prepare the tofu. Place the cubed tofu in a bowl and add the soy sauce and olive oil. Gently toss until combined. Then add the cornstarch and gently toss until the tofu cubes are evenly covered.
Bake the tofu. Place the tofu cubes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (I didn't have any when I took the pictures 🥲) in a single layer and bake for 25 minutes until golden and crispy.
Sauté the aromatics. In the meantime, preheat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and white green onion parts. Sauté until fragrant.
Add the sauce ingredients. Now add the gochujang, soy sauce, honey, ketchup, and mirin. Stir until combined and let the sauce simmer. If the sauce is too thick, thin it with some water.
Combine. When the tofu is done, transfer it to the pan. Toss until combined. Then stir in some of the remaining green onion parts.
Garnish and serve. Garnish the gochujang tofu with green onion slices and sesame seeds (optional). Serve over white rice and enjoy!
Tips & Notes
- Use either firm or extra-firm tofu for this recipe. Both work well, they just taste different. Firm tofu is softer while extra-firm tofu is quite dense. I like to use both, depending on what I'm in the mood for. Just make sure to pat the tofu dry before using it.
- Adjust the sauce to taste if needed. As your taste may be slightly different than mine, I recommend checking the sauce and adjusting its flavor to taste. The sauce as specified in the recipe box below is slightly spicy, sweet, and not too sour. It's how I love to make this dish and I'm sure you'll love it too!
- Pan-fry the tofu, especially if you don't make multiple servings. Baking and pan-frying are both great options for preparing tofu. I baked the tofu in this recipe as it's a hands-off and fuss-free way to prepare multiple servings of tofu. When I make only one or two servings, I usually just pan-fry the tofu in a non-stick pan with some vegetable oil.
Variations
- Add some rice vinegar to the sauce. As I don't like sauces that are too sour, I didn't use any rice vinegar. But if you want to add some acidity, you can add some rice vinegar to the sauce.
- Make the sauce spicier with fresh chili pepper or gochugaru. I'd say the sauce is mild to moderately spicy. So if you want to add some heat, I recommend adding some gochugaru (Korean red chili flakes) or sliced chili pepper.
- Use more of the sweetener for this recipe. I think it's already sweet enough, but you may prefer it even sweeter. So check the sauce and adjust it to taste.
- Stir in some sesame oil right before serving the gochujang tofu. Sesame oil adds a delicious aroma to the sauce and is often used in Korean dishes. I decided to not use it in this recipe, but it's actually really delicious! So feel free to use some if you want.
How to serve gochujang tofu
- Prepare a fresh batch of white rice. White rice is perfect to turn this gochujang tofu into a filling and satiating meal. Plus, it tastes really delicious with the flavorful gochujang sauce!
- Enjoy this gochujang tofu with vegetable side dishes. You could prepare some Korean cucumber salad (oi muchim) or kongnamul muchim (Korean bean sprout side dish). They are easy to make and taste super delicious!
- Turn this gochujang tofu into a bowl. You could enjoy it with steamed vegetables like broccoli or julienned carrots, radishes, and cucumber. It's totally up to you how you like to combine this dish!
Frequently Asked Questions
Gochujang is a Korean red pepper paste that is a staple in Korean cooking. It is used for many dishes that you may have tried or heard of before. It is used to prepare tteokbokki (spicy Korean rice cakes), dakgalbi (spicy Korean chicken stir fry), or dakbokkeumtang (spicy Korean chicken stew). Gochujang deliciously combines spicy, savory, and sweet flavors. It's just super tasty and something you should definitely try!
It's intensely flavored, slightly spicy, and very aromatic. It's also sweet and has a hint of acidity. If you love gochujang, then I'm sure that you'll love this dish, too!
It's not too spicy. I'd say that it's mild to moderately spicy. So feel free to adjust this recipe as needed when you make it. To make it milder, use less gochujang. For some extra heat, use gochugaru or fresh chili peppers.
You don't have to press the tofu if you use extra-firm tofu as it already has a lot of excess moisture removed. When you use firm tofu, you can decide for yourself if you want to remove moisture to make it drier and "meatier". I usually buy the type of tofu that I need so that I don't spend time pressing it at home.
Not necessarily, but if you have some extra time I recommend using it for this recipe. That layer of cornstarch is great for making your tofu crispy and for making it absorb the sauce. But you can definitely just bake or pan-fry the tofu and use it for this recipe.
Absolutely! Baking and pan-frying are great methods for preparing tofu. Just keep in mind that pan-frying takes longer if you are preparing a lot of tofu since the cubes or pieces should not overlap in the pan.
Definitely make some white rice to serve this dish! I also recommend preparing some vegetables for a balanced meal. You can check out the post for more information and ideas.
You can store leftovers in an airtight container in your refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat them in a microwave and enjoy them as usual!
More easy and delicious Korean recipes
If you like Korean food and want to try cooking it at home, I recommend checking out the following recipes. They are classic Korean dishes that are super easy to make!
- Dubu Jorim (Korean Braised Tofu)
- Kimchi Jeon (Kimchi Pancake)
- Doenjang Jjigae (Korean Soybean Paste Stew)
- Tteokbokki (Spicy Korean Rice Cakes)
- Haemul Pajeon (Korean Seafood Scallion Pancake)
Gochujang Tofu
Ingredients
Tofu Ingredients
- 1 14-ounce block firm tofu torn into bite-sized pieces or cubed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Gochujang Sauce Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 green onion cut into slices, white and green parts separated
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 2 tablespoons gochujang
- 1 ½ tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 ½ tablespoon honey or a (vegan) liquid sweetener
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- water if needed to thin the sauce
- sesame seeds (optional) for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C).
- Place the cubed or torn tofu in a bowl. Add the soy sauce and olive oil. Gently toss until combined. Then add the cornstarch and toss until evenly covered.1 14-ounce block firm tofu, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Place the tofu pieces on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a single layer. Bake for 25 minutes until it's golden and crispy.
- In the meantime, preheat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the white green onion parts, garlic, and ginger. Sauté until fragrant.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 green onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- Next, add the gochujang, soy sauce, honey, ketchup, and mirin. Stir until combined and bring the sauce to a simmer. If the sauce is too thick, add a small amount of water to thin it a little.2 tablespoons gochujang, 1 ½ tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon ketchup, 1 ½ tablespoon honey, water, 1 tablespoon mirin
- When the tofu is done, add it to the pan. Toss until the tofu is evenly covered in gochujang sauce. Stir in some of the remaining green onion parts and reserve some for garnish.
- Garnish with sesame seeds (optional) and green onion slices. Serve the gochujang tofu over white rice and with other side dishes or vegetables of your choice. Enjoy!sesame seeds (optional)
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