Sticky Baked Korean BBQ Tofu Bites with Gochujang Ranch. Kinda like popcorn chicken, but SO. MUCH. BETTER. These little morsels of tofu are battered and baked until golden brown and crispy, slathered in the most delicious Korean inspired BBQ sauce, then baked again until they’re extra sticky-icky-good. Pair with my tangy Gochujang Ranch dressing, and you’ve got the most delicious appetizer or main dish that everyone is sure to love!
Sticky Baked Korean BBQ Tofu Bites with Gochujang Ranch
Warning : these Sticky Baked Korean BBQ Tofu Bites are seriously addictive. Once you start, you won’t be able to stop. The tofu is coated and baked until perfectly golden brown and crispy. Then, it’s tossed in the most delicious slightly-sweet, slightly-spicy, perfectly-salted, Korean inspired BBQ sauce (homemade, of course).
And it doesn’t stop there.
After the crispy tofu bites are tossed in the perfectly balanced Korean BBQ sauce, they’re baked again … in the sauce … making for extra sticky, extra delicious tofu! Make sure you also make the Gochujang Ranch for a one-way ticket to FLAVOR TOWN!
Grab a drink and let’s get to cookin’ the best Sticky Baked Korean BBQ Tofu Bites with Gochujang Ranch!
how to make perfect tofu
Look, if you think you don’t like tofu, chances are you’re making it wrong. Here are my tips and tricks into turning that little white brick into the most delicious dish :
- Not all tofu is created eqally. Know your tofu!!! There’s soft, silken, firm, and extra firm. Each density works well in different dishes. If you want tofu for stir frys, salads, and bowls … or for baking, frying, and grilling, then make sure you get firm or extra firm!
- Press your tofu. Tofu is generally packed in water, and in many ways, it works like a sponge. If you don’t press the excess water out of it, then you can’t work new flavors into it. Pressing your tofu also ensures that it keeps its shape. Again, because it’s packed in water, if you don’t press it, then it’s more liked to fall appart in the cooking process. You can buy a tofu press, or just use this method like I do!
- Consider marinating your tofu. In this recipe, we don’t marinate it because so much flavor is in the coating and sauce, but generally speaking, after you’ve pressed your tofu, consider marinating it for a few hours, up to a full day. Make sure you don’t marinate it in oil, though!!! As I mentioned above, tofu is usually packed in water … and we all know that oil and water don’t mix. If you use oil in your marinade, it’ll basically slip right off, so just skip it.
- Make it more often, and learn as you go! Or read more about the different types of tofu and how to use it in different dishes, and they’re cooking methods. I really love this article! I promise, once you get the hang of cooking tofu, you’ll love it!
what can I serve these Sticky Baked Korean BBQ Tofu Bites with?
I think these Sticky Baked Korean BBQ Tofu Bites are the perfect appetizer or party snack, but you could pair them with white or brown rice for a delicious lunch or dinner, on top of you favorite salad, or alongside some rice noodles! The possibilities are endless!
i hope you love these Sticky Baked Korean BBQ Tofu Bites as much as I do!
If I’ve inspired you to try this recipe, make sure to snap a photo or video, share it on Instagram, and tag me at @eat_figs_not_pigs and #EatFigsNotPigs! I love seeing all your recreations of my recipes!
Until next time, friends!
XOXO
- 1 - 14 oz extra firm block of tofu, drained and pressed for at least 30 minutes
- 1 - 1½ cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1-2 cups all purpose flour
- 1-2 cups panko bread crumbs
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp Gochugaru chile flakes, optional
- ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
- Cooking oil spray
- Sesame seeds, for serving
- Green onion, for serving
- ¾ cup low sodium tamari or soy sauce
- ¼ cup Gochujang
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- 6 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1 TBS fresh ginger, minced
- 2 TBS rice wine vinegar
- 1 TBS cornstarch mixed with 1 TBS water
- 1 TBS chili garlic sauce, optional
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ cup vegan mayo
- 3 TBS unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 2 TBS fresh chives, minced
- 1 TBS rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp gochujang sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- Using your hands, tear the pressed tofu into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
- Get your dredging station ready. In one bowl, add your non-dairy milk (starting with 1 cup). In a second bowl, add your flour (starting with 1 cup). In a third bowl, add panko bread crumbs (starting with 1 cup), salt, gochugaru flakes, and pepper. Mix to combine.
- Toss the tofu bites in the flour, making sure that each piece is coated well. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the pieces from the flour, making sure to shake off any excess flour. Place flour coated tofu pieces into the non-dairy milk. Using a separate slotted spoon or tongs, remove the pieces from the milk, shake of any excess liquid, and then toss into the seasoned panko bread crumbs. repeat until all the tofu pieces are coated.
- Transfer the tofu bites onto a parchment paper lined baking tray and spray with a bit of oil. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping and spraying the other side with oil halfway through.
- While your tofu bites are in the oven, get started on the Korean BBQ sauce.
- In a saucepan on medium heat, add tamari, gochujang, coconut sugar, garlic, ginger, rice wine vinegar, cornstarch mixture, chili garlic sauce, toasted sesame oil, and black pepper. Whisk to combine and bring the sauce to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer until it thickens and reduces in size about ⅓, about 10-15 minutes, whisking often.
- In a large bowl, toss the cooked tofu pieces with all of the sauce. Place the tofu bites back into the oven for about 10 minutes.
- While your tofu bites are in the oven for the second time, make the gochujang ranch. Combine all the ranch ingredients and whisk well. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Once the tofu bites are done baking, remove from the oven and sprinkle them with toasted sesame seeds and chopped fresh green onion. Let cool about 5 minutes before serving.
- Serve alongside gochujang ranch.
- ENJOY!
I’ve tried a lot of bread it and bake it recipes and for some reason I can never get it right. Everything worked perfectly this time, from the breading to the sauce proportion (which I was worried would be too little for the amount of tofu but it was proportioned perfectly). My only comment would be to watch out for how much salt is in your tamari/soy sauce. I forgot mine is quite potent and it came out a little salty! Not the recipes fault though 🙂 Thoroughly enjoyed!
These were awesome! My girls are picky (they are 6 and 10 years old) and I thought i was going to have convince them to eat it. They loved them and asked for seconds 🙂
I loved that the recipe was easy and they were delicious.
For some reason it didn’t let me comment and rate so here’s my rating 🙂
These were amazing! I just made these with my sister and they turned out incredibly tasty – I did cut the coconut sugar from 3/4 to 1/2, but it was just personal preference because my family doesn’t like things too sweet. We will definitely be making these again!!
These tofu bites are STRAIGHT FIRE. Made these for my Friday night (quarantine) dinner. From the moment I tried the sauce I knew I was going to love the dish. Thanks as always for such great recipes.
Made these for the first time and my tastebuds were so happy! My bf who is an avid meat eater loved them as well. So easy to make. If I could rate this recipe a 20/10 I would it’s that good ! Going to be making this for people and tricking them into eating vegan food 😍😍
Omg this was beyond delicious!!! My meat eating husband and extremely picky two year old couldn’t get enough! Will absolutely be making this on a regular. It was honestly perfect !
This was so delicious! I’ve never dredged tofu before, but it was surprisingly easy. The sauce is awesome and I can’t wait to have leftovers tomorrow!!
WOW!!! These were sooooo amazing. Honestly one of the best renditions of a crispy chicken take out dish. However I did use coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce and it was the perfect amount of salt. I feel like if I had done soy sauce it would have been a little too salty but that’s just for me 🙂
Tricked my husband into eating tofu! Bwahahaha! He still doesn’t know he ate it… and I’m going to keep it that way because he loved this recipe, and I did too! Thank you!
So super good! My very picky 8 year old that never eats all of her food ate all of it! It was a little spicy for her so next time I might adjust the spice a bit but sooooo delish!
We made this tonight and my non vegan bf cannot stop saying how good it was! Take my advice and double the recipe. This dish is sooo good!
I love this recipe! I’m usually not a huge fan of tofu, but this recipe has definitely changed my mind. It’s not too spicy, but still so flavorful and yummy! Also fairly easy to make 🙂
My wife and I made these the other night on day 117 of quarantine and were completely burnt out on cooking. i was a little nervous it was going to be too much work but it ended up being SUPER simple! Literally could eat these all week. LOVED.
This was the most amazing meal ever.. And it was super easy to follow along!! The flavors in the BBQ were perfect. A nice amount of heat meeting something sweet! Im not huge on tofu ( maybe because Ive been buying the wrong kind) BUT this was perfect. Im the only one in my house that is completely plant based and even my girls loved this. Will be making again!
This recipe is AMAZING!!!!!
The whole family loved it even grandma who doesn’t even like tofu.
100/10 would recommend!
I did mine over rice as a meal!
I saw this on Tik Tok and I was drooling so I had to make this recipe. 10/10 would make again! Honestly shocked at how amazing this makes tofu taste and the fact that it is 100% vegan too. I am not vegan myself but this is a total eye opener on how you can make such creative and delicious meals on a vegan diet. Thanks for such a great recipe!! 🙂
I’m not vegan but I just tried this for dinner and it was BOMB!!! i didn’t have time to bake a second time but it was still super delicious. 10/10 will be making again!!!
Amazing! Turned out perfect even though I made a couple of smaller alterations to the recipe based on available ingredients and laziness. Never had much luck with crispy tofu before but this one worked. I tasted a few bites before coating in the bbq sauce and it was also good and actually very crispy (crispier than after putting on the bbq sauce).
Sooooo gooood! Best tofu recipe I’ve ever made in fact.
These are ridiculously good. Its so hard to stop eating them once you start! I gave one to my husband who has to have meat with every meal and didn’t tell him what it was. He also loved it and thought it was really tender chicken!
One of my favourite recipes.
Ive been dreaming about this recipe since I made it last. It was so damn easy to make and the ranch dressing was amazing left over (dip some tater tots in it). I made the Korean bbq glaze once and didn’t have the fermented chili paste and it was still delish and I coated some vegan meatballs in the glaze for a quick dish. Needless to say, I got that chili paste as soon as I could find it and made the whole dish proper and it’s one of my favorite ways to prepare tofu so far.