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You are here: Home > Archives > Recipes > Korean Recipes > Side Dishes > Steamed Soft Tofu with Soy Chili Sauce

Steamed Soft Tofu with Soy Chili Sauce

October 22, 2013 by Holly Ford 31 Comments

steamed soft tofu with soy chili sauce

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.

 

steamed soft tofu with soy chili sauceSoft 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.

 

soft tofuHere is a block of soft(silken) tofu.

 

tutorial-2I dumped the whole package in the simmering water over low heat and hot bathed it for 7-10 minutes.

 

tutorial-3Meanwhile, 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.

 

tutorial-4Cut one side of package top and drain all the liquid. Be cautious! It will be hot.

 

tutorial-5 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

Steamed Soft Tofu with Soy Chili Sauce

Holly Ford
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 10 mins

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.

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Filed Under: Archives, Asian Recipes, Easy and Simple, Korean Recipes, Recipes, Side Dishes Tagged With: Korean Chili Flake, Tofu

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Comments

  1. Jiji says

    October 22, 2013 at 10:11 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Jiji says

      October 22, 2013 at 10:12 pm

      I love the way you* write

      Reply
    • Holly says

      October 23, 2013 at 7:12 am

      Thanks Jiji. Hope you enjoy the tofu. Have a great day!

      Reply
  2. erin says

    October 22, 2013 at 10:33 pm

    This simple recipe looks yummy, will try it one of these days, thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  3. Jeanne says

    October 23, 2013 at 3:45 am

    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 🙂

    Reply
    • Holly says

      October 23, 2013 at 7:14 am

      Thanks Jeanne. This is a great way to eat the silken tofu.

      Reply
  4. Janel @ Creating Tasty Stories says

    October 23, 2013 at 10:07 am

    It is getting very chilly here in Michigan right now. This sounds like such a warm, comforting (and easy!) meal. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  5. butterfingers says

    October 23, 2013 at 10:57 am

    This is also one of my favourite dish. I usually finished one whole package of tofu alone!

    Reply
  6. [email protected] says

    October 23, 2013 at 11:16 am

    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.

    Reply
  7. Nami | Just One Cookbook says

    October 23, 2013 at 4:45 pm

    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. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Sue | My Korean Kitchen says

    October 24, 2013 at 12:26 am

    It looks so tasty! Love the presentation of the dish.

    Reply
  9. Riitta says

    October 24, 2013 at 6:51 am

    Sounds (and looks, love your pictures) delicious! I’ll give it a go for sure.

    Reply
  10. jill says

    October 24, 2013 at 11:38 am

    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.

    Reply
  11. Venus says

    October 26, 2013 at 2:12 am

    Thanks for this recipe! Love the presentation! Great job!

    Reply
  12. Julie Lee says

    November 4, 2013 at 2:08 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Holly says

      November 4, 2013 at 3:52 pm

      You can use firm tofu, it will taste similar but you won’t get the silky texture that soft tofu delivers.

      Reply
  13. cooking.eating.carousing. says

    November 15, 2013 at 4:31 am

    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.

    Reply
    • Holly says

      November 18, 2013 at 8:02 am

      Hope you get to try this recipe and like it, too.

      Reply
  14. Michael says

    November 19, 2013 at 1:01 am

    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.

    Reply
    • Holly says

      November 19, 2013 at 2:17 pm

      Thanks Michael. I agree, Korean hospital food is much better than American hospital.

      Reply
  15. Merita says

    March 18, 2014 at 9:44 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Holly says

      March 19, 2014 at 1:27 pm

      Hi Merita,
      Glad that you tried and liked this this recipe. Thanks for your comment.

      Reply
  16. Victoria Haneveer says

    June 14, 2014 at 6:48 pm

    Yum yum. I love silken tofu. Didn’t know you could heat it in the package though.

    Reply
  17. tom says

    July 21, 2014 at 4:15 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Holly says

      July 21, 2014 at 8:11 pm

      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!

      Reply
  18. Cheryl says

    October 5, 2016 at 9:40 pm

    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!

    Reply
  19. Diana says

    November 17, 2017 at 7:55 am

    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!

    Reply
  20. Nita says

    December 23, 2017 at 8:01 am

    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!

    Reply
  21. Chaz says

    May 23, 2020 at 4:56 pm

    Great fast way to tofu!~

    Reply

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Welcome to Beyond Kimchee

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I am Holly, a native Korean mother and a wife whose favorite place in the house is the KITCHEN. I hope you find lip-smackingly delicious Korean recipes and beyond in my site.

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