Who doesn’t love spicy chicken wings? My favorites are the Korean ones with spicy or yangnyeom sauce. In Korean these are 두부 양념 치킨. To keep this gout friendly we will substitute extra firm tofu for wings. The sauce will have enough flavor to keep this from being a boring tofu recipe. Tofu cooked in this style is called Dubu-gangjeong (두부강정)
JamesStrange.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. In simple terms, this means that if you click and buy something, we are paid a fee. This fee is used to help recover some of the costs of running the site.In Korea going out for chimek (chicken and beer) is quite common. Everywhere you go you will see fried chicken places. Eating spicy chicken makes it easy to drink lots of beer. But since I have gout eating lots of fried chicken and drinking beer is off the menu. But I still like the flavor of KFC or Korean fried chicken. This recipe satisfies the urge for KFC and is gout friendly.
For this recipe we started with extra firm tofu that was frozen then defrosted. Freezing and defrosting gives tofu a chewy texture similar to meat. If you you can only find firm tofu then press out some of the water and then you will have extra firm tofu.
We also need a salt and potato starch.
For the sauce we need 2 Tablespoons gochujang (Korean Red Pepper Paste): This is what gives the distinctive flavor and brings the heat.
2 Tablespoons tomato ketchup: Gives a sweet and sour flavor. It also gives a nice red color without adding to much gochujang.
1 Tablespoon soy sauce: For a little saltiness.
1 Tablespoon grated onion: Grating the onion allows it to cook quickly while adding flavor. Warning when grating the onion a lot of fumes will be released. This recipe is worth shedding a tear or two.
1/2 Tablespoon finely chopped garlic: How can you have Korean food without garlic (unless your Buddhist) besides garlic goes great with chicken.
1/2 Tablespoon raw sugar: A little something sweet to balance the fire.
1/2 Tablespoon Honey: Its sweet and thick. It will help make the tofu sticky.
1/2 Cup water: To help thin the sauce out during cooking. This allows everything to cook before it starts to burn.
Mix all of the sauce ingredients together and place it beside where you will be cooking. When the burner is on you want to know where everything is located.
If you want to keep this dish vegan then replace the honey with a something thick and sweet of your choice.
Cut your tofu into the size and shape that you want. Pat the outside of the tofu with a paper towel. Lightly salt the surface of the tofu. After adding the salt let the tofu sit for at least fifteen minutes. This allows the salt to soak into the tofu.
After the salt has had a chance to do its thing dust the outside of the tofu with potato starch. Potato starch gives a crust with nice little crispy air pockets.
To a pan on medium add 1/4 cup of neutral flavored oil. Currently we use expeller pressed safflower oil. After the oil is hot but not smoking hot add the tofu. Fry on both sides until crispy. Remove the tofu and sit it aside and pour off as much of the oil as you can. Pour it into a heat resistant container to use it again latter. Use a paper towel to carefully remove any oil left in the pan. Please do not burn yourself.
Put the pan back on medium heat and add the sauce. Keep the burner on medium heat and stir until the sauce starts to get thick. Return the tofu to the pan, let it soak up some sauce and carefully flip it over. Keep doing this until most of the sauce is soaked up and clinging to the tofu.
Place the tofu on a plate and pour any extra sauce over the top. The sauce is to good to waste Garnish with sesame seeds and or green onions.
Ingredients
Tofu
- 16 oz Extra Firm Tofu Frozen then defrosted
- 1/4 Cup Potato starch
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Gochujang (Korean Red Pepper Paste)
- 2 Tablespoons tomato ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon onion finely grated
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 Tablespoon garlic finely chopped
- 1/2 Tablespoon raw sugar
- 1/2 Tablespoon Honey
- 1/2 Cup Water
Cooking and garnish
- 2 Tablespoons oil neutral flavored
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Freeze the tofu then defrost it.
- For the sauce: 2 Tablespoons gochujang (Korean Red Pepper Paste), 2 Tablespoons tomato ketchup, 1 Tablespoon soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon grated onion, 1/2 Tablespoon finely chopped garlic, 1/2 Tablespoon raw sugar, 1/2 Tablespoon Honey and 1/2 Cup water. Mix it all together and set it beside the cook top.
- Cut your tofu into the size and shape that you want. Dry the outside with paper towel. Lightly salt the surface of the tofu. Then dust with potato starch.
- On medium heat fry the tofu until gets a nice crust on all sides and remove from the pan. Use a paper towel to carefully remove any leftover oil from the pan.
- Add your sauce to the pan and mix until it starts to get thick. Return the tofu to the pan, let it soak up some sauce and carefully flip it over. Keep doing this until most of the sauce is soaked up.
- Plate the tofu, top with any extra sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds.
Made this for lunch today with leftover tofu in the fridge. The sauce tasted like that of my Korean-style Fried Chicken Shop. I did make my own tweaks such as adding a slurry to thicken up the sauce and also added a bit more sugar to suit my taste but over all good recipe.
Thanks for posting your results! Feedback like this helps me to make my future recipes better. My wife also likes hers a bit sweeter.