1/2 teaspoon Korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru) or crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Canola oil or vegetable oil, for sauteing
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic (from about 3 or 4 medium cloves)
1/2 cup gochujang (Korean chili paste), or to taste
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
6 flour tortillas, warmed, for serving
Steps
Line a rimmed baking sheet with paper towels. Rinse the tofu, slice it into 1-inch-thick slabs, and lay them on the prepared baking sheet. Top with more towels. Press the tofu by placing a heavy book or cast iron skillet on top. Set aside for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the red and green cabbage with the carrots and toss with lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. In a separate small bowl, combine the cucumber slices, sugar, 1/4 cup of the rice vinegar, and red pepper flakes (if using). Cover both bowls and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until ready to serve.
Using your hands, crumble the tofu into a medium bowl. Add cornstarch and toss until evenly coated. Heat a thin layer of oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the tofu and cook until browned and crispy all over, turning and breaking up the pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the tofu to a plate.
Add more oil to the pan, if necessary, and briefly sauté the garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the gochujang, brown sugar, soy sauce, and remaining 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar. Cook until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes. Add tofu back to the pan and stir until well coated. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
Top each tortilla with cabbage slaw. Spoon the tofu over the slaw and top with the pickled cucumbers. Serve.
Reviews
Vicky on 2018-08-07 (5 stars): Like you, I have had some bad tofu in my day, but this looks amazing. I just want to dig in. I wouldn't have never thought tofu could be so crispy or good!
Annemarie on 2018-08-07 (5 stars): The color in these tacos is amazing! I think my family might actually eat tofu if I serve it with all this flavor.
Christine on 2018-08-07 (5 stars): These tacos look amazing - I am so making them!
Andreas on 2018-09-14 (5 stars): I just made these and holy hell they were spicy, there were tasty but my whole face was on fire after using 1/2 cup of that Korean chili paste .
Brianna Kratky on 2018-09-14 (5 stars): Easy to follow and very tasty! My tofu never really got super crispy but was still delicious!
Lisa T on 2018-12-29 (4 stars): Great flavor but WAY too much spice! (and we live in Texas, so used to strong spice) Next time we will try half the chili sauce.
Andy on 2019-01-01 (5 stars): I've done this twice now and I don't know what gochujang paste you used but the first time we used 1/2 cup and our faces just straight up melted lol, I've never been so sweaty in my life. I liked the flavors so the second time I took maybe 1.5tbsp and it was a lot more pleasant, still spicy. Great recipe.
Jen on 2019-10-31 (5 stars): I have made these so many times and they are delicious! If you have the time, I suggest freezing the tofu first. I usually slice it into slabs, press it, and then freeze it for at least 24 hours (up to a month). Then I thaw, press again, and fry. It really gives it a more chewy texture and allows it to absorb the sauce better.
Barbara S on 2019-12-14 (4 stars): Can this recipe be made several days ahead and put together when ready to serve. Thank you for your response.
Ashley on 2020-02-27 (5 stars): This. Was. Delicious.
I made it tonight and bought paste, not sauce. I used 1/4c versus 1/2c because of previous comments and it was the perfect amount of heat. So yummy, thanks for sharing!!
Tammy on 2020-04-26 (5 stars): I made this recipe tonight after seeing a recommendation for it on a Facebook group. These tacos were awesome! My husband took one bite and started rolling his eyes in joy. Your recipe goes into our "keeper" file. Thank you!
Lynda on 2020-05-07 (5 stars): This was AHmazing! It is definitely a keeper. I didn’t use as much Korean sauce and it was still so flavorful. The tofu crisped right up! I made sure to press that water out real good, for a couple hours. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Veronica on 2020-05-16 (5 stars): I wish I had read the comments before making this as 1/2 cup of the chili sauce was way too much. Next time I’ll just use a 1/4 cup but this is definitely a recipe worth keeping and making again.
Mary on 2020-05-27 (4 stars): These were delicious, but like the previous comments stated, SO spicy!! I got one taco down before I had to give up, and I’m a fan of spice. I’ll try the recipe again, but with half...maybe a forth of the chili paste. The cucumbers and cabbage were great.
Tarisa on 2020-06-13 (5 stars): I’ve made this twice now and I absolutely love it. Yes, it is SPICY. And I’m a baby when it comes to spice but I power through it because I love these so much. My husband loves spice so he thinks the heat level is perfection. I add red onion and cilantro to my toppings and I char my tortillas over a flame before serving. Absolutely delicious.
Mary on 2020-06-19 (5 stars): Absolutely amazing!! I had to make a second batch the same day.
Lily Swan on 2021-02-20 (5 stars): These tacos were amazing! I totally recommend making this.
Katie on 2021-02-22 (5 stars): Thank you so much for sharing- great balance of sweet & spicy. Plus, super user friendly.
Heather on 2021-02-25 (5 stars): So good!!
Kate on 2021-03-21 (4 stars): Wish I had read the comments. 1/2 cup of gochujang was way too much! SOOO SPICY. Tried to course-correct after but it didn't quite work. Still tasty and would make again but with half the gochujang,
Shannon on 2021-05-19 (5 stars): I made this last night and already can’t wait to make it again. It had the perfect amount of heat from the sauce and coolness from the cucumbers. I used corn tortillas and it was perfect
Kayla H on 2022-05-04 (3 stars): Used 1 tbsp of the gochujang paste and it was perfect. But the tofu was way too sweet for me. Will reduce 1/2 cup to 2 tbsp next time. But still pretty good.
Amanda on 2022-07-27 (5 stars): These were amazing!! Will definitely make again.
Jess Smith on 2022-07-31 (5 stars): So tasty. The crispy tofu was really good on its own but pairing it with the slaw and cucumbers made for a fresh and delicious dinner. I reduced the chili paste to one heaping tbsp - which was about right for us as my kids aren’t huge fans of spice. The kids aren’t usually onboard when I serve a totally plant based dinner but loved this one! Will definitely make again
Melody on 2023-03-12 (5 stars): I am not a vegetarian but we try to eat predominantly meatless meals. I’m usually disappointed in vegetarian recipes that try to sub tofu for meat, BUT this was phenomenal. I knew that was too much gochujang for me so I reduced to 1/4 cup. Still too hot for me but my husband thought it was perfect. Might try 1/8 cup next time. I put a very thin layer of oil in a heavy nonstick pan and added a bit more about 3/4 of the way through. Took about 12 minutes to get really crispy and browned. The citrusy slaw with the sweet pickles and spicy tofu was a wonderful combination! I will be doing this several times a month. Bonus, I am going to sub doing tofu like this for some of my other ground beef recipes.
Melody on 2023-03-12 (5 stars): Oh forgot to say, I will cut the sauce in half next time. Wayyy too much left over.
Elizabeth on 2023-03-28 (4 stars): Spicy but healthy and good. My Mexican partner liked it. I’d probably make it again if I can tone down the heat. We stopped at two for fear of later….
Jenny on 2023-08-01 (5 stars): I made this recently, and we enjoyed it a lot! I used 3x the tofu but 2x the sauce, and that amount of sauce was sufficient. I used a lot less gochujang and sugar, but my modified version of the sauce recipe still worked!
Ann on 2024-01-13 (5 stars): We liked the recipe. I would cut all the sugar in half. I also pickled radishes.
Ann on 2024-05-13 (5 stars): This was quite tasty. Following the advice of others I only used 2Tbs of the Korean chili paste. I also cut the sugar in half. It took about 10 minutes to get the tofu sort of crispy. Once it was back in the sauce it got very crispy.
Dylan on 2024-08-22 (4 stars): I’ve made this recipe four times now, and while I love it, I do think there are a couple of things worth noting.
1. Make sure to hit super firm tofu, and/or press it very thoroughly. In order for it to crisp up nicely when frying, it needs to be as dry as physically possible.
2. This is SPICY. I have a relatively high spice tolerance (for a whit person at least, ha) and making it as specified with half a cup of gochujang it was almost inedibly hot. I hat to put a TON of Japanese mayo to even get through it, and even then my mouth was on fire. Every other time I’ve made it, of done a quarter cup instead of half, and it’s way better. I don’t think you lose too much of the flavor, and it’s enough that I can enjoy the meal without downing half a gallon of milk after.
All together, a very good recipe, but beware the gochujang overload
Rebecca on 2025-07-08 (5 stars): I’m always looking for recipes that last a few days for meal prep and these tacos are THE BEST! The taco fillings are also really tasty in a rice bowl with some mixed greens and pickled onions and kimchi, too.
Monica on 2025-07-25 (5 stars): These were amazing and so flavorful. I took advice from other comments and cut the korean hot paste in half. That was the only thing I changed. I will definitely be making them again. They were the perfect spicy level. Sorry for the repeat. I forgot to rate with stars last time.
Melissa DuBois on 2026-04-05 (5 stars): These were fantastic! I deceased the chili garlic sauce by half and it was a great spice level for me. It was a bit too sweet so I plan to decrease the sugar next time. I put the tofu in my air fryer and it worked great (5-8 minutes at 400).
Don on 2026-04-08 (5 stars): I used chili crisp instead of gochujung paste and it ended up great… i didn’t make tacos with it though, made a soba noodle bowl and layered the tofu and pickled vegetables with a fried egg on top! Delish!
