Pan-fried tofu in a sweet, spicy gochujang sauce with a hint of sesame. This quick and easy Korean gochujang tofu recipe is ready in 30 minutes and made with minimal ingredients! Delicious as a main or side dish with rice.
Jump to:
What is Gochujang Tofu?
Gochujang tofu is made of pan-fried tofu simmered in a flavorful, sweet, spicy red sauce, with gochujang being a key ingredient. It's a Korean-inspired dish similar to Korean braised tofu (or "dubu jorim" in Korean), but the tofu is more crispy and the sauce is thicker, like a glaze.
This tofu dish is not typically served at traditional Korean restaurants, but it's become very popular on social media. It's best served on white rice with other Korean side dishes (also known as "banchans") - see pairing suggestions below.
Why you'll love this recipe:
- easily made in 30-minutes, so it's great for busy weeknights.
- made of simple and minimal ingredients.
- so flavorful and fantastic for the spice-lovers!
- it's vegan and is meatless.
- can be made less spicy - see FAQ section below.
- the tofu can be air fried - see FAQ section below.
What is Gochujang?
Gochujang is a sweet, spicy, and savory Korean red chili paste. It's thick, sticky and ranges in various spice levels, from mild to very hot. It's a common Korean ingredient used in popular dishes like dak galbi to tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes).
The paste is made of fermented Korean chili flakes (or gochugaru), glutinous rice, salt, and soybeans. Korean or select Asian grocery stores will sell this paste in red rectangle tub. Once the package is opened, it can last for months stored in the fridge!
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Extra-Firm Tofu: or substitute with firm tofu but be gentle with it. Avoid using medium to soft tofu or it'll easily break apart.
- Green Onion
- Neutral Cooking Oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.
Sauce
- Gochujang: a thick, sweet, spicy Korean red chili paste that varies from mild to hot. There aren't many great substitutes for this, but you can easily find this at the Korean or Asian market or even online.
- Regular Soy Sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce, tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice.
- Gochugaru: these are red Korean chili flakes available at the Korean market. Or substitute with crushed red pepper flakes as a last resort.
- Sesame Oil: can be omitted for allergy reasons, but the dish will be less flavorful.
- Sesame Seeds: can be omitted for allergy reasons.
- Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch or tapioca starch.
- White Granulated Sugar: or substitute with cane sugar, brown sugar, honey or maple syrup.
- Water: cold or room temperature.
Note: Asian ingredients are typically available at most Asian grocery stores or check online, like on Amazon.
Expert Tips
- Remove as much excess liquid from the tofu block by patting it dry with paper towel. This will create crispier tofu.
- Slice the tofu into 1-cm to ½-inch-thick pieces, but don't slice it too thinly or it'll result in a very chewy tofu. You can also dice the tofu into ¾-inch cubes.
- Mix the sauce very well until the gochujang has fully dissolved.
- Prepare your ingredients in advance as the cooking process is fast!
- Lower tofu slices away from you to prevent the oil from splashing back at you.
- Do not overcrowd the pan and fry tofu in small batches if needed.
- Let the tofu cook until golden brown before adding the sauce.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make gochujang tofu:
- Remove the tofu from the package and strain out excess water. Pat the tofu block dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture.
- Slice tofu into 1-cm or ½-inch-thick rectangles and set aside. The thickness of the tofu slices is based on personal preference.
- In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients as listed above until well combined and the gochujang has dissolved. Set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil or any neutral oil in a large pan on medium heat. Carefully lower tofu slices into the hot oil away from you. Fry tofu in small batches until golden brown on both sides, about 5-7 minutes per side.
- Then pour in the sauce in a circular motion to cover the tofu. Let sauce simmer to thicken, about 30 seconds. Then gently toss the tofu in the sauce.
- Garnish with chopped green onions. Serve hot and enjoy!
Storage & Reheating
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes or reheat on the stovetop until hot throughout.
- Freezer-friendly? I don't recommend freezing cooked tofu as the freezing action can pull excess moisture out of the tofu and change the texture.
Pairing Suggestions
Gochujang tofu pairs well with:
- white rice, brown rice, fried rice or plain noodles.
- kimchi
- Korean cucumber salad
- beansprout salad
- zucchini fritters
- gamja jorim
- Korean spinach
- japchae
- gyeran mari
- fish cake stir-fry
- Korean sausage stir-fry
FAQ
This dish can be made less spicy by reducing the amount of gochujang and gochugaru by half the instructed amount.
The tofu can be air fried separately. First dice the tofu instead of slicing it. Place the diced tofu in a single layer into the air fryer basket, giving each piece enough space. Lightly spray the tofu with oil and air fry at 400 degrees F for 8-10 minutes until golden, flipping the tofu pieces halfway. Then toss the tofu into the simmered sauce.
The tofu can also be diced into small cubes, around ¾-inches wide. Just make sure to brown them on all sides and cook them through.
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Spicy Gochujang Tofu
Ingredients
- 14 oz extra firm tofu
- 1 green onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon gochujang
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce or light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch / tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon white granulated sugar or cane sugar / brown sugar / maple syrup / honey
- ½ teaspoon gochugaru
- ½ cup water cold or room temp
Instructions
- Remove the tofu from the package and strain out excess water. Pat the tofu block dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture.
- Slice tofu into 1-cm or ½-inch-thick rectangles and set aside. The thickness of the tofu slices is based on personal preference.
- In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients as listed above until well combined and the gochujang has dissolved. Set aside.
- Heat vegetable oil or any neutral oil in a large pan on medium heat. Carefully lower tofu slices into the hot oil away from you. Fry tofu in small batches until golden brown on both sides, about 5-7 minutes per side.
- Then pour in the sauce in a circular motion to cover the tofu. Let sauce simmer to thicken, about 30 seconds. Then gently toss the tofu in the sauce.
- Garnish with chopped green onions. Serve hot and enjoy!
Cindy Mays
This is now my favorite tofu recipe. I have everything already and it didn’t take much time at all. I threw some micro greens on the top I have growing and it was so amazing!
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe and so glad it's now your favourite!
Rashi
This turned out so well!! Thank you for an easy and quick recipe that’s so delicious!
Christie Lai
Thanks for making my recipe and sharing this positive review, Rashi! Glad you enjoyed it and found it delicious!
Amanda
Very tasty! Not too spicy but full of flavor. However, how did you calculate the nutrition facts for this recipe? I put this into Cronometer and it was 412 kcal/serving. I would love to know what brand of ingredients you used that produced these macros!
Kathy
This was delicious and so easy to make. I used firm tofu.
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Kathy! Appreciate the kind review 🙂
CG Kennedy
I’ve been trying to figure out how to properly cook tofu, and this was the perfect way to learn! Super simple and sooo delicious and crispy. Just the right balance of subtle spice and nuttiness. I didn’t end up needing a full 20 minutes on each side for my tofu to get crisp, but it probably depends on your stovetop. Will certainly be making this one regularly!
christieathome
Amazing, thanks so much for making my recipe CG and glad you enjoyed it! Also happy to read that it didn't take you the full 20 minutes 🙂 Definitely depends on each one's stove top and the heat intensity. Thanks for sharing this note with me!
Suzie D
New to tofu and this recipe sounded good … and it was delicious! Followed recipe exactly and the flavors were on target. My only problem was that I didn’t know what to serve with it.
christieathome
Amazing, thanks so much for making my recipe Suzie! This dish serves well with steamed rice or even noodles and any veggies of your choice!
Laura
Dear Christie, thanks for this and all of the other may recipes from your blog, so far I loved all of them!
Near my workspace we have a Korean restaurant and they sell the best Tofu I ever tasted (maybe with exception to the tofu I used to eat in Malaysia that is equally good) and unfortunately it is quickly sold out. So it is so nice for me to be able to cook this quite similar and as I feel even better tasting recipe.
Even my husband likes this even though usually he does not like tofu. So great compliments for this recipe and thanks for sharing it 🙂
Laura
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Near my workspace we have a Korean restaurant that has the best Tofu I had ever tasted before (maybe except for the one I ate j. Malaysia) and usually it's sold out quickly. By now I can make a similar tofu by myself and I feel that this tofu is even better, it has just the perfect taste and even my husband who usually doesn't like tofu, likes it 😉
So thanks Christie for this recipe and all the other recipes I love!
christieathome
Thank you Laura for this very kind comment! Reading this really warmed my heart and I'm so thankful for it. I am really glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe of mine along with my others! Also happy that your husband enjoyed it too!!!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
This really is such a fabulous quick and easy dinner recipe. I loved your idea to use the gochujang as the base!