Tofu with Kimchi (Dubu Kimchi)

We had a similar dish last week at a Japanese restaurant that was serving fusion dishes. Delicious!

Kimchi tofu, a traditional Korean appetizer, got a modern update from chef Andrew Ahn from the SSAM Contemporary Korean Cuisine restaurant. To make it more stylish give it a richer taste, he used bacon instead of pork and added rice wine and other seasonings. On SSAM's menu, this appetizer is officially called "sautéed kimchi with bacon and seared tofu."

"This is a very popular and traditional appetizer going with Soju, in the old times, when the Korean peasants get tired after work, they would get together with friends, get a drink and taste this appetizer together as a way to relax themselves," Ahn said.

In the summer, if it's not too hot and sweaty in the kitchen, this easily prepared dish is a good appetizer to go with some alcoholic drinks and whet the appetite with a bit of sour, a bit of sweet, a bit of salt, and a bit of rich taste infused into the healthy and light tofu.

Ingredients (serves two):

100g crispy bacon, minced

10g garlic, minced

20g onion, chopped

120g kimchi, preferably aged

1T rice wine, preferably Korean-style

250 ml chicken or beef broth

10g scallion, minced

1/2t sesame oil 

200g tofu

Two slices crispy bacon

1. Stir-fry the minced crispy bacon, garlic and onion all together for about one minute add the kimchi, stir fry for a moment, then add the rice wine. Add the chicken or beef broth and keep stir-frying for about five minutes to remove the acidity and water from the kimchi until it tastes a little sweet. Turn off the heat, then add the minced scallion and a few drops of sesame oil and mix.

2. Spread a few pinches of salt on tofu to let it dehydrate for about three minutes, then boil for one minute so it will be a little firmer

3. Pan fry one slice of bacon until it gets crispy, then put it on a paper towel to drain. Cut it into three pieces.

4. Spread half the stir-fried kimchi and bacon from step one as the base layer under the. Cut tofu with three knife cuts, and insert the pieced crispy bacon made from step three vertically. Add one more layer of the mix of stir-fried kimchi and bacon on top of tofu. Garnish with something green, like basil leaves.

Here's another version.

Ingredients for 2 servings

1 package of tofu
1 cup of kimchi (preferably more aged (sour) kimchi)
1/2 cup of samgyupsal (pork belly) or bacon
1/2 small onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 green onion
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
soy sauce (optional)
sugar (optional)

* The amount of each ingredient is subject to personal taste. If your kimchi is already salty or you use bacon, you can probably skip soy sauce.
** You can easily skip pork belly, onions, spring onions or sesame seeds if you don’t have.

Directions
1. Tofu: there are three options to prepare the tofu.
(a) Steam or boil the tofu for about three minutes. (b) You can slice the tofu into pieces, and pan-fry them with olive oil for more flavor. It usually takes about four to five minutes to cook each side over medium-high heat. (c) Use raw tofu.
I usually boil it because I like it cooked and boiling is the simplest!
When it’s cooled down from boiling or pan-frying, cut the tofu in half lengthwise. Then, cut each into 1/2 inch pieces.

2. Kimchi Bokkeum
Slice the samgyupsal 1 1/2 inches long.
Chop the kimchi into smaller pieces.
Mince the garlic.
Chop the onion and spring onion.
Over a pan, add the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the pan is ready, add the minced garlic, onions and samgyupsal. Stir-fry until they’re almost cooked.
Add the kimchi. Add soy sauce and /or sugar if you’d like. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes.
Add sesame oil and spring onions and cook for one more minute.
Turn off the heat and place the kimchi bokkeum in the center of a big dish.
Place the tofu slices around the kimchi.
Garnish the kimchi bokkeum with the sesame seeds.

How to eat
Place some kimchi bokkeum on top of a slice of tofu, and eat them together.