Have I mentioned how much I love recipes that are absolutely “stupid proof”? You can call it “noobie proof” or “I’m exhausted from work proof” or “I barely know how to boil water proof” too. We’ve all been there: For whatever reason, your brain is on autopilot and, therefore, the recipe better be damn near automated lest you burn your house to the ground. This is one of those rare recipes that practically makes itself but looks and tastes like you slaved over it all day long. I keep it in my arsenal for quick meals and dinner parties alike—it never fails to satisfy. And I’ll bet this may be the first vegan recipe you’ve seen that doesn’t call for extra-firm tofu. This dish celebrates how soft and velvety tofu can be, so play around with medium or firm tofu!
Editor’s note: The Spicy Soy Sauce Dressing will yield more than you need to make the dooboo jorim. Save the extra for another batch of the tofu—keep it in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to a month—or use it as a dipping sauce for dumplings, pour some over cooked vegetables or beans, or spoon it over a bowl of rice.
Ingredients
For the Spicy Soy Sauce Dressing
For the tofu
Preparation
For the Spicy Soy Sauce Dressing
Step 1
In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce, gochugaru, garlic, scallions, red onion, shishito or jalapeño pepper, Fresno pepper, brown rice syrup, rice vinegar, mirin, black pepper, and turmeric together. You can store it in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Shake well before serving.
For the tofu
Step 2
Slice the block of tofu crosswise into ⅓-inch-thick pieces (I usually end up with 8 to 9 pieces).
Step 3
In a very large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, place the tofu in the pan in a single layer (you may have to cook in batches if your pan is not large enough) and cook the tofu until the bottom is browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Flip the tofu and repeat until both sides are evenly cooked.
Step 4
Add three tablespoons of the Spicy Soy Dressing and vegetable broth to the pan. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to very low. Sprinkle the onion, carrot, and mushrooms over the tofu. Cover the pan and cook until most of the braising liquid has evaporated, 15 to 20 minutes, popping the lid open occasionally and spooning a little bit of the braising liquid over the top of the tofu and vegetables as they cook.
Step 5
Garnish with the scallions and toasted sesame seeds. Serve with additional dressing over the top or on the side.
Leave a Review
Reviews (10)
Back to TopShouldn't the tofu be pressed before cooking? Seems like it would pick up the marinade flavors a little better if some of the water was removed from it.
emilie
louisiana
2/16/2022
Tasty sauce for sure, but I’m confused why we brown the tofu on both sides of we are looking for silken velvety texture. Perhaps my slabs were too thin. Next time I might braise the tofu, veg and sauce without first browning. Definitely used more broth and sauce than indicated.
Shporter
Brooklyn, NY
1/5/2022
I expected the tofu to absorb more of the flavor. The sauce helped, but then it just felt bathed in salty sauce. Also tasted better after being stored for a couple of days. If I were to make this again, I would perhaps try adding less broth and more sauce in the braising. I would also add the vegetables to the pan earlier. I steamed/braised the whole pan longer than 20 minutes and the flavors didn't meld.
Coriander
New York, NY
12/29/2021
Idiot proof...yeah I don't know. Unless you have a history of cooking east/south asian cuisine you probably don't have Mirin or gochugaru in your pantry. Also, successfully frying tofu in a skillet without sticking and falling apart takes practice. Finally, the sauce alone has 12 ingredients. Fortunately, I do cook this sort of food often and had the ability and ingredients on hand. The sauce is excellent and will go into my stash as a general purpose dipping/drizzle for dumplings or fried rice in addition to being a solid tofu marinade. Next time I'll use my standard approach of baking the tofu on an oiled baking sheet prior to braising, as I find this to be a much more reliable approach to avoid tofu-stuck-to-pan issues without needing to hand-wring every last drop of water out of the tofu.
Seth
Philadelphia, PA
12/27/2021
This recipe was completely wrong. It calls for an onion, but the picture doesn’t show an onion. It crowds the pan really messing with the temperature.
Anonymous
4/15/2023
I really liked this. My husband liked the taste but not the soft texture of the tofu. Up until now, I’ve only ever made crispy tofu dishes and I wanted to try something different. I did press the tofu based on the previous comment that doing so should make more of the sauce soak into the tofu. It seems to have worked. Browning the tofu might be essential to obtaining the desired flavor. My only question is in regards to the brown rice syrup. In my shopping and research efforts, i noticed that there is Korean rice syrup. How close is brown rice syrup to the taste of Korean rice syrup? The sauce, though totally delicious, was not remotely sweet. I expected at least a hint of sweetness. I’ll try maple syrup next time to see if it’s any different.
Lisa E
Kingston, WA
1/30/2023
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