Pan fried tofu in garlic soy sesame sauce is an easy and delicious Korean tofu side dish. It’s so flavourful that even non-vegetarians would appreciate the taste!

Today I’m going to share an easy peasy Korean side dish recipe using Tofu (Dubu, 두부). OK. One thing I learnt from Hollywood movies is that not many westerners like tofu. Can I safely assume that this is a stereotype? Or is this true?

Tofu is quite bland on its own but at the same time it is such a versatile ingredient that you can dress it up with anything. Like a sponge, it will soak up the sauce and then it will release well blended flavour when you bite it.

How to Serve Korean Pan Fried Tofu

In today’s recipe, first, we will be frying some tofu then we will be dressing this up with garlic soy sesame sauce. This dish is called Dubu Buchim (두부 부침) in Korea and it means pan fried tofu.

As I mentioned earlier, tofu is bland on its own, so it is typically served with some soy based dipping sauce at one’s Korean dining table. Alternatively this dipping sauce can be lightly poured or scooped out with a small tea spoon on the tofu. This sauce could be as simple as straight soy sauce or it can be mixed sauce like mine – garlic soy sesame sauce.

Garlic soy sesame sauce is the most common sauce that’s served with tofu but if you like it spicy, you could add a bit of coarse Korean chili powder (Gochugaru, 고추가루) in it as well.

I always make this dish after I use half of the tofu in some other cooking (e.g. Korean soybean paste soup). The Korean grocery store I often go to only carries one size (500g, 1.1 pounds) tofu pack and I often don’t need all of it in a recipe. Fried tofu in garlic soy sesame sauce is simple, easy and quick to make but still very delicious. Also it’s budget and vegetarian friendly. I hope you like it!

Ingredients for 2 to 3 servings as a side dish

Main

250g Firm (Korean) tofu – I might be biased but I think Korean tofu seem tastier than any other kinds of tofu I’ve tried.
10g (0.4 ounces) green onion – thinly sliced
Some cooking oil (I used rice bran oil)

Seasoning sauce (mix these in a bowl)

2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp raw sugar
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp minced garlic

*1 Tbsp = 15ml

**If you want to learn more about Korean ingredients, check my 30 essential Korean cooking ingredients list!

How to Make Pan Fried Tofu wit Garlic Soy Sauce

1. Take out the tofu from the packaging and drain off the water. Gently pat dry the outer layer of tofu with some kitchen paper. Cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces. (You can cut it into small cubes or cut into medium-sized rectangles, whichever you like). Gently pat dry both sides of the sliced tofu with some kitchen paper.

2. Preheat a (non-stick) frying pan on high heat and add some cooking oil and spread the oil across the pan. 3. Add the tofu and pan fry both sides until they turn golden brown (about 2 mins each side on high heat). Turn the heat off. 4. Stack the tofu in a shallow bowl and add the green onion. Pour the sauce around the tofu and green onion. Serve.

Note

If you let the tofu rest for 3 to 5 mins in the seasoning sauce, it should be tastily seasoned well.
An alternative to pouring the sauce onto the tofu is simmering the sauce over heat with tofu. This dish will be called Dubu Jorim (두부 조림) – Braised tofu in garlic soy sesame sauce.