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We love tofu. We love crispy tofu, we love saucy tofu, and we REALLY love tofu that’s quick & easy to make (but tastes like it wasn’t). Enter crispy baked gochujang tofu! It’s a savory, spicy, Korean-inspired dish perfect for pairing with kimchi, c…
We love tofu. We love crispy tofu, we love saucy tofu, and we REALLY love tofu that’s quick & easy to make (but tastes like it wasn’t). Enter crispy baked gochujang tofu! It’s a savory, spicy, Korean-inspired dish perfect for pairing with kimchi, cabbage apple slaw, kimchi rice fritters, and more.
It’s vegan, gluten-free, protein-packed, and requires just 30 minutes and 6 ingredients.
Crispy Baked Gochujang Tofu (Korean-Inspired) from Minimalist Baker →
What’s that? You’re craving kimchi but don’t want to run to the store or wait a week for it to ferment? We’ve got you. This QUICK kimchi-inspired slaw combines cabbage, apple, and carrot in a tangy, optionally spicy dressing.
It’s the perfect companion…
What’s that? You’re craving kimchi but don’t want to run to the store or wait a week for it to ferment? We’ve got you. This QUICK kimchi-inspired slaw combines cabbage, apple, and carrot in a tangy, optionally spicy dressing.
It’s the perfect companion for all your favorite Korean (and Korean-inspired) dishes, including bibimbap and Korean-style cauliflower wings. Plus, it’s ready in 20 minutes with just 10 ingredients. Let us show you how it’s done!
Quick Cabbage Apple Slaw (Korean-Inspired) from Minimalist Baker →
This Spicy Pineapple Cucumber Salad is the perfect mix of salty, sweet, and spicy, making it an addictive summer treat.
The post Spicy Pineapple Cucumber Salad appeared first on Budget Bytes.
I’ve been totally obsessed with the salty-sweet-spicy flavor combo lately. Ever since I fell victim to a Facebook ad selling some chili-coated sour patch kids (yes, they were awesome). So I was totally delighted when I decided to throw together the gochujang in the back of my fridge with some pineapple from my freezer, and a fresh cucumber, and it tasted exactly like the chili gummies! But like, with actual fruit and vegetables instead of candy. Haha! Needless to say, this Spicy Pineapple Cucumber Salad is a HIT.
Gochujang is a centuries-old Korean chili paste made with chili peppers, rice, soybeans, and salt (check this article for a really extensive history and detail of this awesome sauce). It has a salty-spicy-umami flavor that kind of reminds me of a spicy version of miso. The flavor profile is so unique and so delicious, and I couldn’t be happier about the fact that it’s really trending in the U.S. right now because that means it’s fairly easy to find in major grocery stores. My local Kroger store has about five or six different brands on the shelf!
P.S. Gochujang stays good in the fridge for a really long time, so don’t worry about needing to use up the whole container right away. Here are some other recipes I’ve made using gochujang, if you need some inspiration.
I used frozen pineapple this time around because I had it on hand, but fresh would work just as well. Canned pineapple (in juice, NOT syrup) might work in a pinch, but it tends to be a lot sweeter and not quite as bright in flavor as fresh or frozen, so it’s definitely not my first choice for this recipe.
This particular flavor combination has a lot of flexibility, so I think there is a lot of room for substitution. Here are some ideas:
This tasty salad would make a great side dish to something like Coconut Chicken Strips, Baked Ginger Salmon, Soy Marinated Tofu Bowls, or Easy Orange Chicken.
Thaw ½ lb. (about 2 cups) pineapple chunks. Chop one cucumber (about 3 cups) into pieces roughly the same size as the pineapple. Roughly chop about ½ cup cilantro. Place the pineapple, cucumber, and cilantro in a bowl.
In a bowl, stir together 1.5 tsp gochujang, 3 Tbsp rice vinegar, and 1 Tbsp sugar until everything is dissolved.
Pour that “awesome sauce” over the pineapple, cucumber, and cilantro in the bowl, then give it a good stir.
You can either eat your salad immediately or let it marinate for a while. The salad will stay good in the fridge for 2-3 days, but the fruit and vegetables will get softer the longer they marinate. Make sure to give it a good stir each time just before serving to redistribute the dressing!
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All the flavor of tangy, spicy kimchi combined with comforting fried rice. Our plant-based take is simple with just 10 ingredients required. The perfect weeknight meal or make-ahead recipe for the week. Let us show you how it’s done!
Origins of Kimchi …
All the flavor of tangy, spicy kimchi combined with comforting fried rice. Our plant-based take is simple with just 10 ingredients required. The perfect weeknight meal or make-ahead recipe for the week. Let us show you how it’s done!
Origins of Kimchi Fried Rice
Kimchi fried rice, also called kimchi-bokkeum-bap, is popular in South Korea (source). It’s unclear who exactly invented it, but it’s thought that it originated out of a need to create an affordable and delicious meal with minimal ingredients.
Add some extra umami heat to your lunch with this simple and tasty gochujang tuna salad.
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I’ve been having so much fun working my way through a big tub of gochujang that I bought a while back, adding it to random things I’m eating and discovering how much flavor it can bring to my meals. My latest experiment was gochujang tuna salad. It creates a uniquely savory and spicy tuna salad that is great for sandwiches, wraps, or just stuffing into crunchy vegetables!
Gochujang is a Korean chile paste made with chile peppers, rice, fermented soybeans, and salt. It kind of reminds me of a spicy version of miso. Gochujang is really starting to trend in the U.S. because of its uniquely sweet-salty-spicy and UMAMI flavor, and because we’re all kind of over our infatuation with sriracha and looking for the next best thing. You can usually find a tub or tube of gochujang in the international aisle of most major grocery stores (I used this one), or if you’re really adventurous, try making your own homemade gochujang!
Scroll down to the step by step photos section below the recipe to see images of what gochujang looks like.
As with most tuna salad, this tuna salad can be made into a sandwich or wrap, scooped up with crackers or vegetables, or you can even serve it in little lettuce cups (maybe topped with some shredded carrot).
Love to jazz up your tuna salad? Try these other tuna salad variations:
This is the type of gochujang that I used. It comes in a tub and lasts next to forever in the fridge. I got this at Kroger, which actually had 2-3 different brands available.
And this is what it looks like inside. It’s a thick, red paste. It looks (and tastes) like a spicy version of miso.
Because gochujang is so thick, you’ll want to mix it together with the mayonnaise first. Combine ¼ cup mayonnaise and 1 Tbsp gochujang and stir until smooth.
Drain one 12oz. can of chunk light tuna in water and slice two green onions. Add both to the gochujang mayonnaise.
Stir the tuna and green onions into the gochujang mayonnaise until evenly combined.
Enjoy with vegetables, crackers, as a sandwich, or a wrap!
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I love good quality food, but I also have a small place in my heart reserved for convenience foods like instant ramen or frozen pizzas. I don’t indulge in them often, and when I do I often spruce them up with something special to make them a little more interesting. I’ve posted before about the […]
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I love good quality food, but I also have a small place in my heart reserved for convenience foods like instant ramen or frozen pizzas. I don’t indulge in them often, and when I do I often spruce them up with something special to make them a little more interesting. I’ve posted before about the things I like to add to my instant ramen to give it an upgrade, and now I have a new favorite ingredient—gochujang! This sweet-salty-spicy paste creates a rich broth with plenty of umami that I balanced with some fresh spinach and chunks of mild tofu. This Gochujang Ramen with Tofu is a quick and easy way to indulge that noodle craving!
If you’ve never heard of gochujang, it’s a Korean chile paste made with chile peppers, rice, fermented soybeans, and salt. It kind of reminds me of a spicy version of miso. Gochujang is really starting to trend in the U.S. because of its uniquely sweet-salty-spicy and UMAMI flavor. And because we’re all kind of over our infatuation with sriracha and looking for the next best thing. It’s those fermented soy beans that really set gochujang apart and give whatever you’re adding it to that extra “WOW” factor. So if you haven’t tried it yet, put it on your list!
Because gochujang is really becoming quite popular, you’ll probably be able to find some at most major grocery stores. My local kroger actually carries about 4-5 different kinds! I’m using this Sempio Gochujang. If you have an Asian grocery store near you, you’re sure to find a really good selection there, and probably much better prices. Want to try to make your own? Try this traditional gochujang recipe, or this quickie 5-minute gochujang.
Personally, I like to use my own broth when making ramen instead of using the little seasoning packet that comes with the noodles. I like the freedom of tweaking the flavors and salt content, but you can use the seasoning packet if you prefer. Gochujang has quite a bit of salt, so if you do want to use the flavor packet that comes with the instant ramen I suggest adding the gochujang to the water first (3 cups water), then adding a little of the flavor packet at a time until the broth reaches a reasonable salt level for you.
Decently spicy, IMHO. You can reduce the amount of gochujang to make it slightly less spicy, if you prefer. Or, if you’re looking for non-spicy ways to spruce up your ramen, check out my post about 6 Ways to Upgrade Ramen, or my Vegan Creamy Mushroom Ramen.
This recipe uses half of a traditional 14oz. block of tofu. My first choice for using up the other half of the block would be to make a half batch of my Curried Tofu Salad. That stuff is to die for. You could also toss it into a stir fry, or chop it up, add some BBQ sauce and make yourself a BBQ Tofu Slider.
Drain a 14oz. block of tofu and cut half of it into ½-inch cubes. See the notes above the recipe for ideas for using the remaining tofu.
Add 1 cup water, 2 cups vegetable broth, and 2 Tbsp gochujang to a small sauce pot. Whisk until the gochujang has dissolved.
Add the cubed tofu to the pot. Adding the tofu before we start boiling the broth gives it a few minutes to start absorbing some of the flavor from the broth, as opposed to adding it at the end. Place a lid on the pot and bring the broth up to a boil over high heat.
Once boiling, add the block of instant ramen noodles (without seasoning packet). Let the noodles boil for about a minute, or just until they being to soften up and loosen up from the block.
Add a couple handfuls of spinach to the pot and stir it in until wilted. This should give the noodles just enough time to finish cooking as well.
Slice two green onions and sprinkle them over the ramen just before serving.
Enjoy that spicy goodness!!
The post Gochujang Ramen with Tofu appeared first on Budget Bytes.
This marinated tofu doesn’t even need to be cooked! Flavored with soy, sesame oil and ginger, this easy tofu recipe will be your new favorite. (It’s ours.) Alex and I don’t eat a lot of tofu. But this marinated tofu: well, it’s special. It’s packed with savory umami: toasted sesame oil and ginger and garlic and soy sauce. There’s a touch of maple to balance, and it’s mixed with green onion and sesame seeds. Oh: and you don’t have to cook it! All you have to do is throw in the fridge to marinate: so it’s almost totally hands off. Normally we don’t evangelize tofu. But with this easy tofu recipe: we’re 1000% excited about it. You’ve got to try this one…we promise it’s a winner. Throw it in a bowl with quinoa, tahini sauce and some fresh veggies, and you’ve got a healthy lunch or dinner. How to make this easy marinated tofu recipe Where did we get the idea for this marinated tofu recipe? Well, we actually had it at an airport. AN AIRPORT? Yes, I know, I can confidently say that this is the first and only recipe on A Couple Cooks that has ever been inspired […]
This marinated tofu doesn’t even need to be cooked! Flavored with soy, sesame oil and ginger, this easy tofu recipe will be your new favorite. (It’s ours.)
Alex and I don’t eat a lot of tofu. But this marinated tofu: well, it’s special. It’s packed with savory umami: toasted sesame oil and ginger and garlic and soy sauce. There’s a touch of maple to balance, and it’s mixed with green onion and sesame seeds. Oh: and you don’t have to cook it! All you have to do is throw in the fridge to marinate: so it’s almost totally hands off. Normally we don’t evangelize tofu. But with this easy tofu recipe: we’re 1000% excited about it. You’ve got to try this one…we promise it’s a winner. Throw it in a bowl with quinoa, tahini sauce and some fresh veggies, and you’ve got a healthy lunch or dinner.
Where did we get the idea for this marinated tofu recipe? Well, we actually had it at an airport. AN AIRPORT? Yes, I know, I can confidently say that this is the first and only recipe on A Couple Cooks that has ever been inspired by airport cuisine. HOWEVER. Alex and I were at Chicago Midway and we needed a healthy dinner fast. Somehow, Alex found some sushi and a box of marinated tofu. We were a little wary of it at first. But after the first bite, none of us could stop eating it: including Larson! It was seriously savory and satisfying, but tasted fresh and healthy at the same time.
This marinated tofu is the definition of easy: there are basically two steps. Press, and marinate. Why do you need to press tofu? Well there’s quite a bit of water in tofu, so in order to infuse it with flavor you’ll need to press it. However: we’ve developed a quick way to do it!
Many tofu recipes require you to press tofu for about 1 hour to drain it before starting the recipe. This doesn’t really work with our life work flow, so we decided to research faster ways to press the water out of tofu. There’s actually a surprising trick for speeding up pressing tofu. The microwave!
Oddly enough, if you microwave tofu for 2 minutes, it extracts quite a bit of liquid. Then place the pieces on a dry towel, place a cutting board on top, and top it with a heavy object. The weight will extract more water, and it will be done after just 15 minutes.
After pressing the tofu, all you have to do is marinade the tofu for 30 minutes. Marinading it is just letting it sit in a bowl with the marinade: you’ll just need to stir it once. The flavors are balanced with savory, sweet, tangy, and spicy: soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil, tangy rice vinegar, maple syrup and a touch of gochujang hot sauce for a hint of heat.
Throw that all together with some minced green onion and sesame seeds, and it’s SO flavorful, you won’t know what hit you. Like really. We served this marinated tofu to our 2 year old and he gobbled it all up! It’s truly magical.
And that’s it! With this easy marinated tofu, you don’t cook it. This makes it 100% easier than any baked the method. Since it’s firm tofu and you’ve pressed all the water out of it, the tofu has a great texture. Of course, if you’d like to bake it you still can! You can pan fry it or bake it (we’d suggest our friend Ali’s method for baking it). But this easy marinated tofu recipe really doesn’t need to be cooked: it’s seriously flavorful without the fuss.
This marinated tofu is so simple because it’s mostly hands off: there’s really only about 10 minutes of active time. This gives you ample time to prepare the rest of a meal. And because it can store refrigerated for up to 5 days, it’s perfect for lunches!
How would we serve this marinated tofu? We have a noodle bowl recipe coming soon that features it, or you could make it into a bowl meal bowl with quinoa and roasted brocolli….ok let’s just start a list! Try serving it with:
How would you serve it? Let us know in the comments below.
Vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, and plant-based.
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Prep Time: 45 minutes Cook Time: 0 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes 
Yield: 4 This marinated tofu doesn’t even need to be cooked! Flavored with soy, sesame oil and ginger, this easy tofu recipe will be your new favorite. (It’s ours.)
Category: Main Dish
Method: Marinated
Cuisine: AsianKeywords: Marinated tofu
A Couple Cooks - Healthy, Whole Food, Vegetarian Recipes
After having Korean fried chicken in a restaurant a while ago, *that* spicy gochujang sauce stuck in my mind. It’s like a grown up version of the sauce on sweet & sour chicken. I made it at home, using it to coat crispy tofu (coated in cornstarch and pan fried) to stuff into pillowy soft bao buns. I actually made these a while ago but never got round to posting the recipe! Now that I’ve been going a bit bao crazy I thought I would get this one up on the blog at the same time so there are some filling options for people to look at. We used this sauce last night for coating katsu seitan and it was epic – we had it with pickled radish/red onion and carrot ribbons which was a great combo. I think the sauce would work well on katsu sweet potato for an easy option. These are a bit ‘involved’ since you do need to do the whole tofu pressing, coating & frying situation. I also roasted some butternut squash to go in the buns but you can leave it out if you want (or use something seasonal like roasted carrots instead). However, […]
The post Crispy Gochujang Tofu Bao Buns (vegan) appeared first on Izy Hossack – Top With Cinnamon.
After having Korean fried chicken in a restaurant a while ago, *that* spicy gochujang sauce stuck in my mind. It’s like a grown up version of the sauce on sweet & sour chicken. I made it at home, using it to coat crispy tofu (coated in cornstarch and pan fried) to stuff into pillowy soft bao buns.
I actually made these a while ago but never got round to posting the recipe! Now that I’ve been going a bit bao crazy I thought I would get this one up on the blog at the same time so there are some filling options for people to look at. We used this sauce last night for coating katsu seitan and it was epic – we had it with pickled radish/red onion and carrot ribbons which was a great combo. I think the sauce would work well on katsu sweet potato for an easy option.
These are a bit ‘involved’ since you do need to do the whole tofu pressing, coating & frying situation. I also roasted some butternut squash to go in the buns but you can leave it out if you want (or use something seasonal like roasted carrots instead). However, once you’ve done the prep it’s easy to keep the components warm or reheat them, making the whole thing perfect for when you have a few friends round.
You can get frozen bao from Chinese supermarkets or, if you want to make them yourself, see my post for an in-depth recipe with some helpful shaping GIFs.
For the squash:
For the sauce:
For the tofu:
Warm the bao:
Assemble:
Have you made this recipe?
I’d love to see how it went! Tag me on instagram @izyhossack and hashtag it #topwithcinnamon so I can have a look & reshare in my stories!
The post Crispy Gochujang Tofu Bao Buns (vegan) appeared first on Izy Hossack - Top With Cinnamon.
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