Tofu bulgogi rice bowls
15 min · 24 g protein · 422 cals / serving
Tofu crumbled small and fried until golden and chewy, then tossed in a sweet-savoury bulgogi sauce of grated pear, garlic, ginger, tamari and toasted sesame oil. Over short-grain rice with edamame, garlicky sesame spinach, cucumber, carrot and kimchi: four Korean bowls, two of them tomorrow's lunch.
Ingredients
Bulgogi sauce
- 1/2 small asian pear, peeled and finely grated (or a ripe Bosc pear)
- 2 1/2 tbsp tamari, labelled gluten-free
- 2 tsp brown sugar, beet or organic cane sugar if you need it strictly vegan
- 3 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 2 tsp ginger, finely grated
- 2 tsp sesame oil, toasted
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 block (14 oz) prepared extra firm tofu, blotted dry
- 2 tsp canola oil
- about 2 1/4 cups cooked short-grain or jasmine rice sushi rice, 1 3/4 microwave pouches (250 g each; keep the rest), or leftover rice
- 1 1/3 cups shelled edamame, frozen
Sesame spinach
- 8 cups (one 9-oz bag) baby spinach
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil, toasted
- 1 clove garlic, finely grated
- 1 pinch salt
To serve
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Steps
- Whisk the grated pear, tamari, brown sugar, the 3 cloves of garlic, ginger, the 2 teaspoons of sesame oil and the pepper together in a bowl.
- Crumble the blotted tofu into small pieces with your fingers (or grate it on the large holes of a box grater). Heat the oil in your largest nonstick skillet over high heat, add the tofu, spread it out and cook 7–8 minutes, stirring only every couple of minutes, until golden and chewy at the edges.
- Meanwhile heat the rice in the microwave (pouches as the pack says, leftover rice covered with a splash of water). Microwave the edamame in a covered bowl with a splash of water for 2 minutes, add the spinach, cover and microwave 1–2 minutes more until wilted, then drain and toss with the 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil, the last clove of garlic and a pinch of salt.
- Pour the sauce over the tofu and toss over high heat for 1–2 minutes, until it is absorbed and the tofu turns glossy and sticky.
- Divide the rice among four bowls or containers and top with the tofu, edamame and spinach, cucumber, carrot and kimchi; scatter with green onion and sesame seeds. For lunches, pack the cucumber and kimchi apart, cool the rice and tofu quickly and refrigerate within an hour: it keeps 3 days. Reheat the rice and tofu until steaming hot.
Good to know
Can I make it spicy?
Stir a spoon of gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) into the sauce, or put gochujang on the table for the grown-ups; most gochujang contains wheat, so leave it out for anyone who eats gluten-free.
Can I use brown rice?
Yes, brown rice adds fibre and a nutty chew, for about the same score.
Can I use two blocks of tofu instead of the edamame?
Yes, but brown them in two pans at once: two blocks in one skillet steam instead of browning, and need twice as long.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 86
- Protein
- (22%)
- 5 g
- Fat
- (33%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (45%)
- 11 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 210 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 1689 kcal goes into the pot and 2125 g of ingredients comes out as about 1955 g of food: 86 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.