Tofu Bulgogi

You won’t believe how easy it is to make this tofu bulgogi with a few simple ingredients! It comes together quickly in a few short steps, making it perfect for a weeknight meal. Crumbled tofu cooked in a sweet, salty, and savory sauce, this tofu bulgogi has all the same flavors as traditional bulgogi!

Beef bulgogi is one of my favorite meals. I could eat it every single day and still look forward to my next meal! Previously, I’ve shared my classic bulgogi recipe as well as a quicker ground beef bulgogi recipe in addition to chicken bulgogi so it wasn’t a surprise to anyone when I started making tofu bulgogi on days I found tofu on sale.

 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• This tofu bulgogi uses pretty much the same sauce as bulgogi and ground beef bulgogi recipe, but instead of beef, it’s swapped out for tofu. When crumbled, the firm tofu’s texture is similar to ground beef!
• It’s very easy to make. The tofu doesn’t take long to turn golden on the skillet, and once the sauce is absorbed by the tofu, it’s ready! The longest part of this recipe is waiting for the tofu to finish pressing.
• Bulgogi uses kitchen and pantry staples and this tofu version is no different. You’re more than likely to have most of these ingredients on hand and ready to go.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• tofu — I highly recommend using extra firm tofu over firm tofu. The extra firm tofu, when crumbled, mimicks ground beef, texture-wise, really well! Check out my post on how to press tofu without a tofu press to learn how to press out excess liquid.
• onion — I grate my onion with a cheese grater to make the onion blend into the sauce seamlessly.
• garlic — the more, the merrier, in my humble, garlic-loving, opinion.
• brown sugar — for the sweetness. You can use regular or dark brown sugar.
• salt and pepper
• soy sauces — I use both low-sodium soy sauce and dark soy sauce. I add dark soy sauce as it adds a nice dark color to the tofu to look similar to cooked beef. If you do not have dark soy sauce, you can add a bit more regular soy sauce, and just keep in mind the color of the tofu won’t be as dark. It’ll still taste really good though!
• mirin — mirin is a Japanese sweet rice wine, if you are unable to find it, you can try rice vinegar with a bit of honey or maple syrup.
• sesame oil — to help the tofu crisp up in the skillet.

How to Make Tofu Bulgogi

• Press the extra firm tofu with your method of choice. I press my tofu without a tofu press by wrapping it in paper towels and placing heavy objects on top.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the soy sauces, mirin, brown sugar, grated onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.

• Once the tofu has been pressed, tear the tofu into bite-sized pieces. You can crumble some and keep some larger for different textures.
• Add the sesame oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add the crumbled tofu to the skillet. Try to spread the tofu into a single layer and leave it undisturbed for a minute or two to allow the bottom of the tofu to turn golden. Stir and repeat until the tofu is as golden as you desire.

• Add the sauce to the tofu, and cook for 5 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and absorbed by the tofu.
• Serve immediately. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions if desired.

Recipe Tips and Notes

• You can double the sauce ingredients if you want a saucier tofu bulgogi.
• If you have an Asian pear, I highly recommend grating it to add to the sauce. It’s not always easily found, so I don’t always add it to my bulgogi. Asian pear adds sweetness, but it also tenderizes meat, so it’s not really necessary for this tofu version.
• If you don’t feel like grating your onion and mincing garlic, you can add the sauce ingredients into a food processor and simply blend them together.
• I like to serve my tofu bulgogi with my simple seasoned spinach and some sauteed mushrooms and carrots over jasmine rice. Purple rice is a great alternative. Feel free to serve it with any vegetable side dish you like! Air fryer broccoli and air fryer mushrooms are a great side to make in the air fryer while you cook the tofu.

Make Ahead Tips

• Meal prep: once cooled, store the cooked bulgogi tofu in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.
• Reheat: you can reheat leftovers in the microwave.

More Tofu Recipes to Try

• Crispy Sesame Tofu
• Agedashi Tofu
• Orange Tofu
• Dubu Jorim (Korean Braised Tofu)
• Silken Tofu Recipe with Soy Sesame Sauce
• Tofu Dumplings
• Stir Fry Tofu with Vegetables

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