Ingredients
375g firm tofu
2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari – make sure it’s GF if you’re cooking for GF tummies.
1 1/2 tbsp honey (or agave syrup if vegan)
3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
1/2 inch ginger, peeled and grated
1 pear, grated- we used a bosc but any will work
4 spring onions, finely chopped, whites and greens separated
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp gochujang paste – you can find this at your local korean grocer
2 tbsp sunflower oil
a handful of black and white sesame seeds, to serve
Summary
This braised tofu recipe, which is a riff on the Korean classic, Dubu Jorim, absolutely rocks. All you gotta do is, mix the sauce ingredients, fry off the tofu, then bung it all in together for 5 mins. The truly eye opening bit is adding a whole grated pear – mellow sweetness amongst the spicy, funky, savoury flavours. Like we said, rockin’!
This recipe is by Meera Sodha
Braised Tofu with Pear – Dubu Jorim
GF, VG
Lightly press the tofu block between your hands over the sink to get rid of as much water as possible, then wrap in a clean tea towel, place a heavy object like a pan on top and leave to one side.
Place the soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, pear, spring onion whites, sesame oil, gochujang, and 1 tablespoon of water into a bowl and whisk to mix. Remove the tofu from the tea towel and cut into 1cm-thick slices, or squares if you prefer.
Coat the bottom of a large non-stick frying pan with the sunflower oil and line a plate with a couple of sheets of paper towel. Heat the oil until it reaches smoking point and fry the tofu slices for 8 minutes until golden on both sides. Remove the tofu to the plate, allowing the paper to absorb some of the excess oil.
Add the soy and honey sauce and stir for a couple of minutes, then put the tofu back into the pan and cook for 5 minutes until the sauce reduces and becomes glossy and thick.
To serve, place the tofu in a serving dish, pour the sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the sesame seeds and remaining green onion. We had ours with rice and broccolini – yumbo!
