Dubu-jorim

Taste and texture

Dubu jorim braises rectangular tofu pieces with seasoning and water. The tofu may first be pan-fried on both sides or braised without frying. Preparations range from chili-seasoned to primarily soy-flavored. KTO describes mild, soft tofu with seasoning as a side dish for rice. Pieces are served with a little remaining braising sauce.

Block tofu is used so the slices hold their shape. Korean Bapsang explains that firm frying tofu is easier to turn and withstands the pan well, while Korean frying and stew tofu may differ only slightly depending on the product. Even rectangular slices are patted dry so their broad surfaces can be seared on both sides.

Semie Kitchen lightly salts small rectangular pieces and wipes away surface moisture before frying both sides. It also offers the option of skipping the frying for a softer result. The initial sear contributes to a firmer exterior.

A sauce may combine water, soy sauce, chili flakes, sugar, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Semie Kitchen adds a solid kelp, shiitake and vegetable stock seasoning, with chopped scallion and fresh green and red peppers. Soy sauce and chili color the tofu while small vegetable pieces remain visible on its surface.

Maangchi uses sautéed aromatics as a sauce base. After browning tofu and setting it aside, she fries minced onion, garlic and scallion in the remaining oil. A soy, salt, sugar, chili and water sauce is reduced before the tofu returns, followed by sesame oil, seeds and scallion. Fried tofu and sautéed aromatics meet in the sauce.

Larger onion pieces produce a different composition. Sallijaeryeon places thick pan-fried tofu on sliced onion, then adds soup soy sauce, regular soy sauce, chili flakes, cooking rice wine, garlic, starch syrup and kelp stock. The onion cooks beneath the tofu and remains as long, soft pieces to serve alongside it.

To season more than the upper surface, Korean Bapsang slightly lifts the tofu edges so sauce can run underneath, then turns the pieces and spoons sauce over them. The rectangles remain intact rather than being crumbled into a stir-fry. The seasoned exterior surrounds a pale interior.

A rice-bowl variation comes from Food Nuri. Salt-and-pepper-seasoned tofu is browned, placed over onion with dallae wild chives, and braised in a sauce with soy, chili, scallion, garlic and ginger. Tofu, chives and a little braising liquid are then served directly over rice instead of on a separate side-dish plate.

The remaining liquid changes the presentation. A looser preparation leaves red or brown sauce around the tofu; a more reduced one coats it with sauce and onion. Maangchi reduces sauce before adding tofu, while Food Nuri's rice bowl uses a little broth over the rice. Both tofu pieces and spoonable seasoning contribute to the dish.

The inside stays soft, while a pan-fried exterior has a slightly firmer bite. Splitting a piece reveals pale tofu beneath the sauce. Unfried tofu lacks that seared layer and is softer. Intact rectangles let each bite include the moist center and seasoned surface.

Soy sauce adds saltiness, sugar or syrup sweetness, and chili flakes or fresh peppers heat. Scallion and garlic join nutty sesame oil and seeds. Onion softens beside the tofu. Mild tofu makes the clinging sauce noticeable, and rice carries both together in a spoonful.

A soy-based preparation can still include chili. Sallijaeryeon's version combines two soy sauces with chili flakes, while Semie Kitchen also uses hot fresh chili. Red flakes or pepper pieces may therefore appear in brown sauce. In the rice-bowl variation, wild-chive stems and leaves add aroma and more vegetable texture.

How to order it in Korea

1. At a Korean set-meal restaurant it may arrive as one of the shared banchan, so ask whether you can order it on its own.
2. Restaurants differ on whether they braise it in a spicy sauce or plain soy sauce, so ask about the heat when you order.