Bulgogi-Style Tofu

By Sam Sifton

Updated Nov. 8, 2023

Bulgogi-Style Tofu
Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Rating
4(3,637)
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This is a no-recipe recipe, a recipe without an ingredient list or steps. It invites you to improvise in the kitchen.

Here's the prompt: bulgogi-style tofu. It’s simple. Press some firm tofu to extract as much liquid as you can. Make a marinade of soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, minced garlic, grated ginger, a spoonful of gochujang, a splash of neutral oil, some sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds. Slice the tofu into bite-size cubes, and slide them into the marinade. Let that sit — a half-hour works; a few hours works better. Then roast them in a hot oven on an oiled foil-lined pan until they’re crisp. Serve with bibb lettuce cups to wrap them in, with rice, kimchi and a dipping sauce of ssamjang and a little bit more gochujang thinned out with neutral oil and sherry vinegar. (If not, go with sesame oil and ground white pepper.) That’s a fine dinner.

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4 out of 5
3,637 user ratings
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Comments

DG

Here’s the proportions that I used, which fits my preferred flavor palate- 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 tbsp gochujang 2 tbsp brown sugar 1 tbsp canola oil 1/2 tsp sesame oil 1 clove of garlic 1 inch ginger Sesame seeds sprinkled in

AH

To get the tofu extra crispy, after marinading, toss in 2-3tbsp cornstarch and either roast or airfry at 400 for 15-17 min.

Laura S.

For those wanting recipe amounts, in the third sentence of the introduction the word bulgogi is underlined. This is a link to a marinade recipe. Here Sam uses tofu instead of the beef and leaves out the Asian pear and onion. This recipe is what I used for amounts. Enjoy!

Suz

Followed DG's measurements. Doubled everything. Pan seared the tofu first in ghee then tossed in the sauce that I had heated in a small pot. Delicious.

Jessie

Used another reviewers guidance to do the following, and next time will do 3 TBSP brown sugar. Great pantry dinner. Sheet pan, no cornstarch, 450 X about 20 min with broccoli on the top rack and lots of oven door openings and closings. Teens liked it. 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 tbsp gochujang 2 tbsp brown sugar (use 3 next time) 2 tsp peanut oil 1 tsp toasted sesame oil 2 cubes TJs frozen garlic 4 cubes TJs frozen ginger Sesame seeds on top after cooking

Jessie

5 stars with 3 TBSP brown sugar--such a winner. Marinating for at least 3 hours gives great depth of flavor

Nancy in MN

For more authentic and delicious flavor and more nutrition, toast the sesame seeds and then grind them with a pinch of salt: if you toast a cup at a time, you can use the blender, then freeze what you don't use. Add to almost anything by the spoonful: it's a seed, not a spice or an herb.

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