{"id":373,"date":"2011-05-14T12:18:02","date_gmt":"2011-05-14T19:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/waffledaily.wordpress.com\/?p=373"},"modified":"2016-10-21T21:11:31","modified_gmt":"2016-10-22T04:11:31","slug":"ingredients-for-life-gochujang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailywaffle.com\/stage1\/ingredients-for-life-gochujang\/","title":{"rendered":"Ingredients for Life: Gochujang"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tofu, love it or hate it, is a blank canvas for flavor. I hear you snickering over there, “Blank canvas for flavor. That stuff is BLAND.” On it own, plain, it is bland, no doubt. But maybe that’s why Asian cultures have been dousing it for centuries in miso, soy sauce, ginger garlic sauce, red pepper paste and whatever else\u00a0 to give it a little more zip. But let’s talk about that red pepper paste, aka gochujang.<\/p>\n

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I only just discovered gochujang<\/a> in the last year or so when I hit upon this recipe for Daeji Bulgogi<\/a> over at Serious Eats. It comes in a red plastic tub and is a deep red, almost mahogany color. It packs a spicy punch, even though the first ingredient is not red peppers (that’s #4, preceded by corn syrup, rice and water.) It’s a fermented product, but doesn’t have really any stinkiness to it. If anything, it just smells sweet. And sorry gluten-free eaters, I’d check the label before you dive into this. Mine at least has glutinous rice and wheat gluten as ingredients.<\/p>\n

The Bul-tofu above is my go at Burp and Slurp’s Korean BBQ tofu<\/a> paired with brown rice and a tangle of stir-fried vegetables (broccoli, julienned carrot, baby bok choy, sugar snap peas). My CSA box dictated that part of it. Just stir-fry it over medium-high heat in a couple of teaspoons of canola or vegetable oil, broccoli first, with a couple of cloves of garlic sliced and about an inch of ginger, minced. Add 1\/4 c. of chicken broth to help steam the broccoli, drizzle with soy sauce to taste, and cover cooking for 2-3 minutes – checking for doneness. This always seems to vary. Less is more. Add the quickest cooking veg last,\u00a0for 1-2 minutes. Done.<\/p>\n

1\/31\/14 update: Recipe instructions updated for clarity and to include pressing the tofu and basting halfway through and at the end of baking time.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\r\n\t

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\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i> Print Recipe<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t
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Bulgogi Tofu<\/h2>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tServes: 2-3<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i> \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCooking Time: 35 minutes<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t
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Ingredients<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t