Sticky Gochujang Tofu with Herbs and Peanuts

Ripping tofu into chunks.

Baking the tofu.

Saucing the tofu.

Dipping, dunking, devouring.

The end result here is craggly little bites of crispty, boingy, saucy, sticky tofu. Throw it onto a rice bowl with the crunch of cucumber and some herbs. Add more sauce. Happy dance.

The beauty of this recipe is that we get to go super minimal at the start – salt, pepper, oil and cornstarch. The main goal is just TEXTURE. And once the crispity golden texture is there, we drench her with spicy-sweet sauce (5 ingredients, thank you very much) that sticks into every tofu nook and cranny.

This tofu is fast enough and easy enough that I can make it for a WFH lunch, which I often do. And love. The kids are a no-thanks to the spicy gochujang sauce, so when I make this for dinner, we give them the plain tofu as “tofu nuggets” with ketchup or honey mustard and my husband and I get to enjoy the whole batch of that finger-licking sauce to ourselves.

The gochujang sauce in this recipe is based around peanuts, sesame, and soy – but should you find yourself wanting a gochujang sauce that’s even a little more luscious (and potentially a bit more allergy-friendly), this mayo-based gochujang sauce is a total delight and would work just as well here!

• 1 16–ounce block extra firm tofu – ideally the kind that comes vacuum-packed
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to taste

• 3 tablespoons gochujang sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1–2 tablespoons water as needed

• Rice
• Cilantro, green onion, and/or peanuts as a garnish
• Cucumber, or other veggies for the bowl