Comforting, Spicy Korean Gojuchang Tofu Stir Fry

I was inspired to make a dish like this by a small Korean cafe named "Jiki", where I often go on days where I haven't been able to prepare a lunchbox. I have tried and loved many of their hot food dishes, but they have a spicy tofu and vegetable one that is just out of this world. I didn't have a recipe for this so it isn't exactly like Jiki's but it was very tasty nonetheless. 

Korean food is, for me anyway, warm and comforting - perfect for an icy winter's day. I will definitely adventure further into Korean cooking - one of the wonderful things about living in England is how we have all these opportunities to pinch traditions from other cultures. People settle here from all over the world and, in becoming Britons themselves, broaden our own culture and variety of experience. 

In my case it's always about the food! Ok, sometimes it's about the clothes too. Plus it's fun to celebrate new feast days. Actually, Koreans celebrate a lunar new year as well as the traditional Gregorian one and personally I am all up for dressing in Hanbok, learning to play Yut Nori and eating Tteokguk next Jan 31st if anyone else is...

Ok, so first thing first, cut a block of firm tofu into sizeable cubes and heat up a good glug of toasted sesame oil in a frying pan. When the oil is really hot place the peices of tofu in and, after a minute or so, turn onto another side - keep doing this until the tofu is crispy all over, it really doesn't take that long. Empty out onto kitchen roll and leave to cool.

To make up the sauce mix together 2 tbsp Korean Gochujang paste, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin and 2 cloves of minced garlic.
   
Prepare your vegetables by chopping a whole bunch of spring onions into about 4 lengthwise and a lump of ginger (as much as you like, go by preference - I put loads in) into thin slices, put the white parts of the spring onions and the ginger to one side.

Alongside the green parts of the onions, slice some mushrooms, a bell pepper and add some beansprouts - this will work with any veg though, use what you have available and cut into a size that will cook quickly.

When you are ready, reheat the pan still containing the sesame oil from cooking the tofu and, when hot, add the white onion and ginger. Cook until visibly softened before adding the rest of the vegetables and cooking until everything is almost done. Finally, pour in the sauce and stir through thoroughly - you only need to cook the sauce until it's hot and the raw edge to it has gone, it doesn't take much time.

* Note - if you are greedy like us, and not veggie, you can add in some cooked, peeled king prawns at this point. They go really well with the tofu and the spicy sauce. I actually think this sauce would be great with meatier vegetables like aubergines, chicken or even chunky white fish - it's very versatile.

Serve hot, with plain rice and kimchi.

 

Tofu Rendang Curry

I ripped this recipe out of some food magazine ages ago; it was on an advert for Cauldron (the tofu brand) and had been stuffed between the pages of my Malaysian cookery book. I omitted their dessicated coconut but was otherwise reasonably true to the recipe: it was really tasty.

First of all assemble the "paste" ingredients: a couple of sliced lemongrass stalks, 2 chopped red chillies, a generous tablespoon of chopped ginger, a heaped teaspoon of turmeric, one of palm sugar and a pinch of salt. Also once sliced purple onion and a few cloves of garlic.

Heat up a pan with some oil and cook the garlic and onion until translucent, then add all of the other ingredients which you've already prepared. Cook for a minute or two before adding a can of coconut milk, 125ml water, 1 tsp tamarind paste (or more if, like me, you love the stuff), 4 star anise and a cinnamon stick. I also added a load of halved chestnut mushrooms and trimmed green beans.

Simmer on a low heat while you cook the rice. Then, while the rice is on the side having its final steam, pop the tofu in to cook through. I used plain tofu and I think it would have been even better if I'd drained it and fried it first, but it was still lovely au naturel. Serve over the rice and top with fresh coriander.


 

Souper Duper

I love this kind of dinner, a hot seaweedy broth with soft udon noodles, loads of veg and egg fried tofu (or whatever other topping is in the fridge at the time: prawns, chicken, pork, anything goes). I got the idea for the crispy tofu from Ching-He Huang's book "Chinese food made easy".

Noodle soup is perfect for using up whatever you have left in the fridge

My first dabblings with dashi broth and udon, a couple of years ago, were under the guidance of Harumi Kurihara's book "Japanese Home Cooking". It's addictive stuff and I would really recommend this cookbook to anyone who likes Japanese food.
First of all pop a couple of sachets of dashi stock (or a litre of veg, chicken or fish stock) into a pan, with a strip of kelp/kombu if you have it. Bring it up to a simmer and then leave on a low heat.

Then chop up your veg, I used sliced spring greens and radishes, a couple of leeks cut lengthways and a few sliced mushrooms. Sliced garlic is also a must!
I pre-prepared a garnish mix of sliced red chilli, spring onions and fresh coriander.

The messy bit is the tofu, you need to cut the block into big cubes and roll each cube first in cornflour and then in beaten egg. Chef Steve Watts told me a good technique: use one hand just for the flour and one hand just for the egg, that way you don't end up with two hands coated in sticky mess and each layer stays clean and separate.

The tofu I use the most (and like the best) is R&R Tofu's "Clear Spot" label.

Drop the flour-and-egg coated cubes into a hot frying pan with a bit of oil and leave them to cook until the bases are crispy. Turn them over and onto their sides in turn until you're happy they are cooked the way you want them. Pop them into a bowl and set aside.

Drop a handful of dried udon noodles into the hot broth to cook and reload the frying pan with all of the veg, stir the veg and noodles until both are cooked. 
Add a dollop of grated ginger, a dash of soy sauce, a spoon of white miso paste, mirin and some lime juice to the broth *.

Share out the noodles and broth between two bowls, top with the veg, then the tofu cubes and finally sprinkle with the chilli, spring onion and coriander.

* You'll notice that I don't give exact measurements for anything, that's because I don't usually cook in a precise way. I like to taste the food as I cook and add the amount of each ingredient based on what I think it needs. 
If I haven't made a similar dish before though, I'll use a recipe from a book or the internet to give me inspiration as to what ingredients should be used and in what proportions. Once I've made the dish a few times I'll go by memory and taste.

Links 
You can get loads of really fabulous Japanese products (like miso paste, mirin, wakame, kombu and so on) from this amazing shop: Atari Ya
You can also buy just about any Asian ingredient, including a huge range of noodles, at a reasonable price from: Korea Foods