Korean Recipe: Tofu & Kimch (두부김치)

In case you are here for the first time, I should let you know that I'm Korean. I grew up eating Korean food - Koreans don't eat a lot of different kinds of ethnic food. You'll know what I'm talking about if you get a chance to visit there sometime. Koreans love Korean food - rice, kimchi, a bunch of different kinds of vegetable side dishes, fish, soup, occasionally some meat - that's what we eat. I never got to eat Mexican, Japanese (other than sashimi and maybe some sushi), Chinese (only Korean-Chinese, which is quite different from the real Chinese food), or any other European food when I lived in Korea.

When I moved to America, I fell in love with all kinds of ethnic food and then I kind of forgot about Korean food. I was fine without it. And frankly, I always thought it was impossible to get good Korean food in America. My excuse was that I can't find Korean ingredients in any of the American grocery stores. Then I found this amazing Korean market near Sacramento and now I have been able to find some ingredients. Oh I was so excited and started cooking more Korean food lately - I will post those recipes here soon.

I made this great and simple tofu and kimchi recipe before I knew of the existence of the Korean market. It's great because most grocery stores now carry tofu and kimchi nowadays. I used a store-bought kimchi. Yeah, I know, store bought kimchis aren't that great... and that is why I panfried them. Fried kimchi has a great flavor and makes not-so-great kimchi wonderful. Try it, you'll know what I mean. Koreans usually panfry older kimchi (the ones that are getting soft) in a little bit of sesame oil and the kimchi juice. It's a great way to cook up old kimchi that you're about to throw away. And it tastes great!

Tofu & Kimchi (두부김치)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 tofu, firm, halved and sliced about 1-inch thick

1 cup kimchi, jarred or homemade kimchi (preferably older), cut in small pieces
1/2 cup kimchi juice

2 teaspoons sesame oil

sesame seeds, to garnish

olive oil

Directions:

In a small pan, over medium-high heat, add sesame oil. When the pan is hot, add kimchi and stir frequently until the kimchi is sofented. Add the kimchi juice and cook until most juice has evaporated. (You may add salt and pepper to taste.)

In a skillet, heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. When the pan is hot, add tofu and fry until both sides are browned. Remove the tofu from the skillet.

On a plate, place tofu and top each slices with a spoonful of kimchi. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Serve warm.

Sook the Cook