← Nouns Cooking · Korean

Ingredients

• 450 g firm tofu
• 1 tsp salt, for the tofu water
• 200 g pork belly or shoulder, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 300 g well-fermented kimchi, cut into bite-size pieces
• ½ Onion, sliced
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp Gochujang
• 1 tsp Gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes)
• 1 tsp Soy sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 2 Spring onion, cut into 5 cm lengths
• 1 tbsp Toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp Sesame seeds

Method

1. Bring a pot of water to the boil with the salt. Simmer the whole block of tofu for 3–4 min to warm it through, then lift it out, drain and slice into 1 cm thick rectangles.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat and stir-fry the pork for 3–4 min, until it renders some fat and turns golden at the edges.
3. Add the kimchi, onion, garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 4–5 min, until the kimchi is soft and slightly caramelised.
4. Stir in the gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce and sugar and cook for 1 minute more. Toss in the spring onion, then turn off the heat and stir in the sesame oil.
5. Arrange the warm tofu around the edge of a plate, pile the kimchi stir-fry in the middle and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Eat a piece of tofu topped with kimchi in each bite.

Tips

• Pan-fry the tofu slices until golden instead of poaching if you like more texture.
• Swap the pork for mushrooms for a vegetarian plate, but check your kimchi, as most contain fish sauce or salted shrimp.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Korean Bapsang Beyond Kimchee