Dubu-jorim (Spicy Braised Tofu) · Paik Jong-won

Slice the green onion and the Cheongyang chili into thin rounds about 0.3 cm thick.

Halve the tofu block lengthways, then cut it across into slices about 1 cm thick.

💡 1 cm is thin enough for the sauce to reach the middle in the short time this cooks, and thick enough that the slices do not collapse when the pan comes to a boil.

Lay the raw tofu slices out flat across the bottom of a shallow pan, in a single layer, without frying them first.

💡 This is the shortcut that defines his version. Most dubu-jorim recipes pan-fry the tofu golden first, which is the step that costs time, oil and a spattered stove. Here the tofu goes in raw and the braise does all the work.

Pour in the filtered water until the tofu is submerged about halfway — not covered.

💡 Halfway is a braise; covered is a soup. Judge it by eye against your own pan rather than trusting the 180 ml — a wider pan needs more, a narrow one less.

Scatter the saeujeot, coarse gochugaru, jin-ganjang, brown sugar, minced garlic, minced ginger, Cheongyang chili and green onion straight over the top of the tofu.

Do not stir and do not mix a sauce in a separate bowl. Everything simply goes on top.

💡 Stirring is what breaks the tofu. The seasonings dissolve into the water on their own as it heats and the bubbling circulates them — you do not need to help.

Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil.

Once it is bubbling, keep it at a steady boil and spoon the sauce over the exposed tops of the tofu every minute or so, so the slices sitting proud of the liquid still take on colour.

💡 He is specific that the tofu should be lightly submerged in the boiling sauce as it reduces. Spooning is how you get there without stirring and without flipping.

Boil until the sauce has reduced by about half — roughly 6–8 minutes. The liquid darkens, thickens slightly and the tofu edges turn from white to red-brown.

Now add the perilla oil and carry on reducing.

💡 Perilla oil, not sesame — and late, not early. Its nutty, grassy aroma is volatile: put it in at the start and you boil the whole point of it away. It also carries the chili colour into a glossy sheen.

Reduce until the sauce is jajak-jajak — just a shallow pool left around the tofu, thick enough to cling rather than run.

💡 Jajak-jajak (자작자작) is the standard Korean doneness cue for a jorim and it is worth learning: not dry, not soupy — enough sauce left to spoon over rice, and no more.

Turn off the heat, lift the slices onto a plate with a spatula rather than tongs, and spoon the remaining sauce over. Serve warm or at room temperature with rice.