Bulgogi Style Tofu Food

BULGOGI STYLE TOFU

Steps:

• First, make sure your tofu is very well drained. Wrap it up in towels and press between two plates with something heavy on top to get all that water out(about an hour). I pressed mine for well over an hour. Freezing the tofu after draining is also an option if you're working with a flimsier tofu.
• Once it has drained for a good long time, slice the block in half.
• Then, make thin slices to the tofu to resemble little tofu steaks.
• Arrange them in a dish where they will be able to soak up lots of marinade.
• Cover the tofu slices with your chopped onions, green onions, ginger and garlic.
• In medium sized bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, black pepper, mirin, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes and shredded pear. Stir really well to complete mix all ingredients together. Pour over tofu and veggies.
• Cover and place into the refrigerator. Let marinate at least 8 hours. It's really great to do this overnight... a little longer than 8 hours wont hurt anything. In fact, it may even help.
• After 8 hours has passed, separate the tofu strips from the marinade. Reserve the veggies and sauce for cooking.
• Heat up a cast iron skillet over medium heat and drizzle with some sesame oil.
• When your skillet is nice and hot, place the strips into the pan in an even layer so that there is adequate room for them to fry up. When you place the tofu in the pan, it should sizzle. (I cooked my tofu in two batches).
• Pour enough of the marinade onto the tofu just to cover, make sure some of those veggies get in there too.
• Let cook until most of the marinade has reduced, and the bottoms of the tofu slices are nice and caramely brown. Flip over tofu strips and cook until other side turns brown. Continue to cook until all tofu has transformed into delicious Korean bulgogi tofu.
• Serve over rice.

BULGOGI JEONGOL

Steps:

• For the dasima broth: Combine the dasima and 8 cups cold water in a large pot. Let sit until the dasima swells until doubled in size and the water turns slightly green-yellow, about 30 minutes. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; boil until the dasima starts to foam around the sides, 1 to 3 minutes. Discard the dasima, then add the radish and simmer until the radish is soft enough to be easily pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the guk-ganjang and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Discard the radish; you should have about 4 cups broth. Set aside.
• For the bulgogi: Whisk the soy sauce, sugar, mirin, sesame oil, garlic and few grinds of black pepper together in a large bowl until combined and most of the sugar is dissolved. Add the beef to the marinade and toss until the beef is well coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours.
• For the assembly: Soak the dangmyeon noodles in a large bowl of lukewarm to warm water until they bend around your hands nicely when lifted, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside while preparing the other ingredients.
• To assemble the dish, place the onion over the bottom of a 12-inch high-sided skillet or shallow pot with a lid. Follow with the soaked dangmyeon noodles. Then add as much or little of the bulgogi, oyster mushrooms, shiitakes, tofu, enoki, carrot, crown daisy, minari, cabbage and scallions as you like to the pot (pack the ingredients in as the mushrooms will cook down). Carefully pour the prepared dasima broth in; you can start off with 3 cups or add all 4 cups of the both for a soupier version.
• Cover with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil over high heat and let cook until the vegetables are tender and cooked through and the bulgogi turns brown, 2 to 4 minutes. (If you want more broth, add some water and season with salt.) Serve immediately with rice on the side. And don't forget to dig down to the dangmyeon noodles on the bottom!