One of the countries I would like to visit someday is Korea because of their cuisine. I have always loved Korean dishes, in fact, I shared with you some of the recipes I made. I’ve made Korean Ground Beef, Tteokbokki, Salmon Bibimbap, and even Kimchi. Their dishes have this unique combination of spicy, sweet, and salty complete with ingredients such as meat, vegetables, and kimchi. This time, I decided to make Tofu Bibimbap to satisfy my cravings yet still support my low carb diet.
Bibimbap simply means “mixed rice, meat, and veggies.” Another variation is to top it with fried eggs and serve it with kimchi. Traditional bibimbap may also use raw beef and raw egg yolk. You can also use different veggies such as spinach, kale, bean sprouts, or cabbage.
How to Make Easy Tofu Bibimbap
In this recipe, instead of frying the tofu, I baked it in the oven for an oil-free option. You can also cook it in the air fryer if you don’t have an oven. I also cooked some chicken separately in case my kids look for some meat.
What’s unique about this recipe is that the tofu is marinated before cooking so they’re flavorful. I like to make extra sauce for serving because you can also use the sauce as a dip. In this case, I made extra sauce because I cooked some chicken, too.
Why Use Tofu in Bibimbap?
For vegans, tofu is one of the best meat substitutes. Tofu is food derived from bean curd, which is made from curdled soya milk. This is also the same method in cheese-making. In Chinese legends, they say that tofu was accidentally made when a Chinese cook let the soya milk curdle when he added nigari seaweed.
Tofu is rich in proteins and is a good plant-based source of iron and calcium. It also contains nutrients such as zinc, magnesium, copper, and Vitamin B1.
So, add this to weekly meal plan and make Tofu Bibimbap over the weekend or on not-so-busy days. Don’t forget to share this recipe with others!
Superfood Tofu Bibimbap
Ingredients
- 1 block organic extra firm tofu
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1-2 tbsp Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 inch fresh ginger grated
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup broccoli
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 1 bunch kale roughly torn
- juice from 1 lime
- kosher salt
- 2 cups cooked grains of your choice barley, quinoa, or brown rice
- 4 pieces fried eggs
- 1 piece avocado sliced
- 1 cup fresh or pickled carrots and radishes you can also use store-bought kimchi
- toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper.
- Place the tofu in between paper towels and press it with a plate. Add a heavy object on top of it to drain as much water as you can. Let it drain for 30 minutes then slice into cubes.
- In a bowl, mix 2 tablespoons water, soy sauce, Gochujang, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil.
- Place the tofu cubes in a Ziplock bag or shallow dish. Pour half of the soy sauce mixture on the tofu cubes and let it marinate for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the tofu from the marinade and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, flip over, and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until crispy.
- Toss the mushrooms and broccoli with 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, add the broccoli to the same pan with the tofu.
- In a separate bowl, massage the kale with the remaining olive oil, salt, and lime juice.
- Prepare your rice bowls by dividing the grains in bowls. Top off with tofu, kale, broccoli mixture, avocado, pickled veggies, and a fried egg.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and pour the reserved sauce.
1 thought on “A Taste of Korean Food: Superfood Tofu Bibimbap”
Love this recipe! Made it for lunch over the weekend and surprisingly, even my teenage kids love it! Gonna try the salmon bibimbap, too!