연두부 양념반찬
[ yeon-dubu yangnyum banchan ]
When I was hospitalized after my surgery in Korea this past summer, I had to live with hospital food for a few days. Maybe because of all the trauma I had to go through, I lost my appetite big time. I am not a picky eater. I usually eat everything served in front of my nose. But for some reason I just couldn’t eat anything in the hospital. I lost 10 lbs in 10 days. (unfortunately I gained all back plus a little extra now as I am recovering… urgh!!!)
The nurse and the meal serving staff were quite unhappy to see hardly eaten meal on the tray of mine. I don’t think there was anything wrong with the food. It’s just that nothing tasted the same to me as they should.
However there was one dish that I ate without fussing much. It was this steamed soft tofu with soy chili sauce. It was comforting and I could actually taste the flavor of the sauce and swallow it down. I emptied out the dish with some rice and it certainly made me feel a little better.
Soft tofu, aka silken tofu (연두부, yeon-dubu ) doesn’t have much flavor itself. Which means you can add any flavor you like to turn this amazing plant based protein food into any savory dish or even a dessert.
This recipe is very easy and simple to make, and it can be made within 10 minutes of time. I used hot water steaming method to enjoy my tofu warm but you can certainly eat cold right out of fridge.
Here is a block of soft(silken) tofu.
I dumped the whole package in the simmering water over low heat and hot bathed it for 7-10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, Korean soy sauce for soup, sesame oil, sesame seeds and some chopped green onion, and a little water in a small mixing bowl. Add a little bit of Koran chili flakes to the mixture.
That’s it. You are done cooking.
Cut one side of package top and drain all the liquid. Be cautious! It will be hot.
Turn tofu block onto cutting board and slice into 2-4 sections depends on the serving size you desire.
Place the tofu piece on a serving plate and drizzle the sauce over. And you got one of the easiest Korean side dish to impress. It is flavorful, healthy, vegan, and gluten free (if using gluten free soy sauce). You can eat as is, which I often do, or serve it with some rice.
What a great feeling to enjoy the beautiful fall season again! I have missed it for the past tow years. It is good to be back in the States.
Hope you would like this simple tofu dish.
Steamed Soft Tofu with Soy Chili Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 package soft silken tofu
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon Korean soy sauce for soup gook ganjang or chosun ganjang
- 2 -3 teaspoon Korean chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoon chopped green onion
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to simmer over low heat. Add the unopened tofu package in the pot and let it simmer for 7-10 minutes to heat up.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine all the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
- Take the tofu package out of simmering water and open one side of package top to drain all the liquid inside. (Be cautious! The liquid will be hot)
- Open up the tofu package and turn the tofu onto the cutting board. Cut it into 2-4 sections and place on the serving plate. Drizzle the sauce over and serve warm.
Hi Holly언니! (I hope that’s okay)
This is a wonderful yet simple and hassle free delicious recipe! I’m going to make this “당장”!
Love your blog! I love the way to write, too.
I love the way you* write
Thanks Jiji. Hope you enjoy the tofu. Have a great day!
This simple recipe looks yummy, will try it one of these days, thanks for sharing!
I _love_ tofu, especially the silken type. Thank you for this recipe, Holly. I also like the subtly-coloured glaze of your plate. Like celadon or jade 🙂
Thanks Jeanne. This is a great way to eat the silken tofu.
It is getting very chilly here in Michigan right now. This sounds like such a warm, comforting (and easy!) meal. Thanks for sharing!
This is also one of my favourite dish. I usually finished one whole package of tofu alone!
I’ve never thought to warm the tofu in the package! What a terrific idea! The sauce looks lovely – spicy and interesting! Thanks so much.
Our countries have similar food, and yours is just a bit spicier. 🙂 Love the simplicity of food. We can enjoy the elements from the food. 🙂
It looks so tasty! Love the presentation of the dish.
Sounds (and looks, love your pictures) delicious! I’ll give it a go for sure.
I’m glad to hear you’re back! This is one of my favorite side dishes, and I’ve been wondering how to make it. Thanks for posting this recipe.
Thanks for this recipe! Love the presentation! Great job!
what about Firm tofu thats all I got. Maybe Ill try a different recipe with this firm tofu?Or will it still work? Thanks so much.
You can use firm tofu, it will taste similar but you won’t get the silky texture that soft tofu delivers.
I love tofu! I am going to try this simple recipe. I’ve never heard of cooking tofu straight in its packaging. Although it’s convenient, I think I might steam the tofu on a plate over boiling water instead.
Hope you get to try this recipe and like it, too.
When I was living in Daegu, my wife was in the hospital. I shared some of her food with her, and I suprisingly enjoyed it. It was simple, but quite tasty. Much better than in any american hospital.
Thanks Michael. I agree, Korean hospital food is much better than American hospital.
Hi there, I just made this for my lunch and it was quick and really really tasty. I will be making this often. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi Merita,
Glad that you tried and liked this this recipe. Thanks for your comment.
Yum yum. I love silken tofu. Didn’t know you could heat it in the package though.
this is a wonderful recipe. I subbed the soup soya sauce for a bit more normal soya sauce and a teaspoon of fish sauce. It was delicious. Utterly delicious.
That’s great, tom. I am so happy to hear you tried this recipe and loved it. Replacing the Korean soy sauce for soup to fish sauce is a great idea!
We had this for dinner tonight, and it was fantastic! I also loved that it was healthy, easy, and cheap. That’s not a common combination. I had to make a few substitutions, based on what I could find at my local (Chinese) Asian store. They didn’t have Korean soy sauce for soup, so I just used more regular soy sauce (Kikkoman). They also didn’t have Korean chili flakes, so I just used regular chili flakes and crushed them with a mortar and pestle to make them less coarse. I used just 1 teaspoon of my chili flakes because my kids can’t take a lot of heat. I’d love to try this dish with the authentic ingredients, but I enjoyed even with what I did.
We will have this dish again and again! Thank you!
Hello Holly, I was searching for a simple recipe using silken tofu and I found yours, and your great blog. I tried this recipe, making some changes according to what I had at home, and I loved it. Thanks and greetings from Germany!
This looks absolutely scrumptious. I meant to buy firm tofu, but bought silken tofu by mistake and couldn’t figure out what to do with it. Your recipe sounds perfect! Thanks for sharing!
Great fast way to tofu!~