Finding the ingredients
You can open unfamiliar ingredients directly from the list. Many Korean pantry basics are easiest to find in Asian grocery stores or online, while fresh ingredients can often be handled more flexibly.
Dubu Jorim (Korean Braised Tofu, 두부조림)
Category: Side dishes🕒 30 mins🍽️ 3 servings
From my kitchen
How I cook this at home
I keep this recipe practical for everyday cooking: clear steps, linked ingredients, and small notes from my kitchen so you can make it realistically in Germany too.
My notes for this recipe
Dubu Jorim is one of those Korean side dishes that works very well with rice. The tofu is first slowly pan-fried, then briefly braised with onion, spring onion and a spicy sauce.
In Germany, tofu has become much easier to find than before. Go Asia now sells its own tofu products, and I also sometimes see Pulmuone tofu. The packs are often quite large, for example around 480 g. For Dubu Jorim, that works well because the tofu can stay in slightly bigger pieces.
I make the sauce with jin-ganjang, mirim, a little tuna fish sauce, sugar, gochugaru, pepper, syrup and garlic. The spoon measurements here are based on a Korean spoon — roughly similar to a normal tablespoon.
Quick tips
- Read the ingredients and steps once before you start.
- Prepare the sauce, vegetables, and toppings first so cooking feels calmer.
- Adjust the final flavor gently with soy sauce, salt, sugar, or sesame oil.
How I cook it
Step 1: Prepare the tofu
Take the tofu out of the package and let it drain gently. Cut it into thick slices. If the tofu is very wet, pat it dry briefly with kitchen paper.
Step 2: Mix the sauce
In a small bowl, mix jin-ganjang, mirim, tuna fish sauce, sugar, gochugaru, pepper, syrup and minced garlic.
Step 3: Slice the vegetables
Thinly slice the onion. Cut the spring onions into small or diagonal pieces.
Step 4: Pan-fry the tofu slowly
Add a little oil to a frying pan and pan-fry the tofu over low to medium heat until golden on both sides. Do not flip too early, so the slices do not break.
Step 5: Add onion and spring onion
Add the onion and spring onion to the pan with the tofu.
Step 6: Add water and sauce
Pour 150 ml water into the pan. Spread the prepared sauce over the tofu.
Step 7: Braise
Let everything simmer over medium heat until the sauce thickens slightly and the tofu absorbs the flavor. Spoon some sauce over the tofu while it cooks.
Step 8: Serve
Serve Dubu Jorim warm with rice. It also works well as a side dish with other Korean meals.
Small notes
For the tofu
480 g tofu
a little neutral oil for frying
1 onion, thinly sliced
1–2 spring onions, sliced
150 ml water
For the sauce
3 tbsp jin-ganjang or regular soy sauce
1 tbsp mirim
1 tbsp tuna fish sauce or Korean chamchi-aek
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp gochugaru
a little black pepper
1/2 tbsp corn syrup or light syrup
1 tbsp minced garlic
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Small questions that often come up
Can beginners make this recipe?
Yes. Read through the steps once and prepare the ingredients first. That makes the recipe much easier to follow.
Where can I find Korean ingredients?
Asian grocery stores, Korean online shops, and larger supermarkets with an Asian section are usually the easiest places to start.