Korea · 30 min · Vegan · Side dish · For beginners
Dubu Jorim
In German: Geschmorter Tofu · In English: Spicy Braised Tofu
For 2 servings · US units
Braised tofu in a spicy gochugaru sauce — quick, and made for rice
Dubu Jorim is one of those Korean dishes that goes on the table next to the rice without any fuss, and still empties the bowl every time: golden pan-fried tofu slices braised in a sauce of gochugaru, gochujang and soy sauce until the onions underneath turn sweet. It's ready in half an hour and tastes best hot, while the thickened sauce still runs into the rice. For me this is everyday cooking at its best — few ingredients, lots of flavor.
Ingredients
- 12⅓ ozTofufirm, drained, cut into slices about 1 cm thick
- 1Onionsliced or diced, cooked under or with the tofu
- 1Scallionssliced, added toward the end
- 1½ tbspfor the seasoning sauce, adjust to desired heatKorean chili flakes made from sun-dried red chilies, ground coarse or fine. Bright red, fruity, mild to medium hot and slightly smoky.Substitute: The closest match is Aleppo pepper (pul biber) from a Turkish grocery, which is similarly fruity and mild but oilier, often salted and slightly tangier. In a pinch, mix sweet paprika with a little cayenne; this roughly matches colour and heat but not the fruitiness or texture. Ordinary crushed red pepper flakes are too hot to use in the usual quantities.Read more
- 1 tbspfor the seasoning sauceKorean chili paste made from glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, chili powder and salt, thick, hot, salty and faintly sweet.Substitute: There is no real substitute, because the fermented depth and the sticky sweetness together carry the dish. As a stopgap, light miso paste stirred with Korean chili powder or other mild chili flakes and a little honey or sugar roughly matches the salt, heat and sweetness, but tastes flatter and less rounded. Chili sauces such as sriracha are too thin and too sour and change the dish noticeably.Read more
- 2½ tbspSoy saucefor the seasoning sauce; partly Korean soup soy sauce in one version
- 3 clovesGarlicminced, into the sauce or fried along
- 1½ tbspsweetens the sauce; sugar as substituteIn Korean cooking this usually means a light starch or rice syrup (mulyeot, jocheong): thick, mildly sweet, and used for gloss.Substitute: Glucose syrup or light corn syrup come closest to the original, as does rice syrup. Honey or agave syrup also work but are noticeably sweeter and bring their own flavour, so use less; sugar dissolved in water sweetens but gives little gloss or body.Read more
- ⅔ cupWaterbraising liquid; anchovy-kelp stock as an option
- 1 tbspdrizzled at the end; perilla oil as an alternativeDark oil pressed from toasted sesame seeds, with a strong, nutty, roasted aroma; usually added at the end in small amounts as a seasoning.Substitute: There is no real substitute, as no other oil carries the roasted aroma; at a pinch, a neutral oil with freshly pan-toasted, crushed sesame seeds helps, though the flavour stays clearly weaker.Read more
- 1 tbspSesame seedsfor sprinkling; ground perilla seeds as an alternative
- 1 tbspVegetable oilfor pan-frying the tofu
- Saltlightly salt the tofu before frying, season the sauce to taste (optional)
- 2Eggcracked into the sauce at the end (optional)
- 2Mushroomssliced, braised along (optional)
- 1fresh chiligreen or red, sliced (optional)
- 2 tspseasons the sauce; more soy sauce as substitute (optional)Tiny shrimp packed in plenty of salt and fermented, a very salty, savoury paste with the small shrimp still whole.Substitute: Fish sauce is the usual stopgap, especially in kimchi and soups: it supplies salt and umami, but tastes of fish rather than shrimp and leaves no small pieces in the dish. As a dip for pork there is no workable substitute, because the flavour and bite of the whole shrimp are the point there.Read more
- Black pepperto taste (optional)
Method
- Prepare the tofuDrain the tofu well, cut it into slices about one centimeter thick, pat them dry all over, salt them lightly if you like and let them sit for a few minutes.
- Cut the onions and vegetablesCut the onion into strips or dice and slice the scallion into rings; if you're using them, slice the mushrooms and cut the fresh chili into rings.
- Mix the seasoning sauceFor the seasoning sauce, stir together the gochugaru, gochujang, soy sauce, minced garlic and oligodang syrup, pour in the water or stock, and, if you like, season to taste with salted shrimp liquid and black pepper.
- Pan-fry the tofu until goldenHeat the vegetable oil in a pan and fry the tofu slices over medium heat for three to four minutes per side, until golden brown.
- Layer in the pot and boilSpread the onions over the base of a pot or wide pan, lay the fried tofu on top and pour over the seasoning sauce, then bring everything to a boil.
- Braise the tofu in the sauceBraise over medium to low heat for about ten minutes, until the onions are soft and the sauce has thickened, spooning the sauce over the tofu slices now and then.
- Add vegetables and finishAdd the scallion and the remaining vegetables, let them cook briefly, drizzle with sesame oil and scatter over the sesame seeds.
- Serve with riceServe the tofu hot with plenty of sauce alongside rice.
Tips and variations
The tofu doesn't have to be fried at all — you can layer it raw into the sauce and simply braise it; or go the other way and let the fried tofu cool, cut it into bite-sized pieces and fold it into the reduced sauce right at the end. Instead of water, a stock made from dried anchovies and kelp works beautifully, as is common in Korean households, and part of the soy sauce can be light Korean soup soy sauce (gukganjang). Perilla oil and ground perilla seeds are a lovely alternative to sesame oil and sesame seeds, and if you like, crack a couple of eggs onto the sauce at the end and let them set with the yolks still runny. Serve it hot with a bowl of rice — as a main dish, or as a side when there are more of you at the table.
Allergens
Contains: Cereals containing gluten, Sesame, Soybeans
May contain if you use the optional ingredients: Eggs, Fish, Crustaceans
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
