In 2012 Danny and I traveled to South Korea and fell in love with Korean food. All those pickled and fermented veggies are so addictive and so good for you (gotta take care of that micro-biome!).

This Korean-inspired tofu bowl provides an awesome combination of textures and flavors. Sweet, salty, tangy, spicy, creamy, crunchy… its all there. It takes a little bit of multitasking, but its totally worth it. And, if you get the timing right (I’ll walk you through it), it comes together in under an hour.

INGREDIENTS

14 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. soy sauce or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
3 tsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1-2 tbsp. fresh chopped ginger
1 and 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
1-2 cups kimchee
4 eggs (optional)
Sautéed Sesame-Ginger Kale

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking oil. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together both types of oils, soy sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, maple syrup, hot sauce, garlic, and ginger. Let the tofu cubes marinate in the sauce while the oven finishes preheating. Save the extra marinade.

Place the marinated tofu cubes on the oiled baking sheet, making sure there is some space between each one. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove tofu from the oven, and use a spatula to flip. Bake for 15 more minutes after flipping.

Start the rice right after you first put the tofu in the oven. Once you have the rice going, start on the kale (recipe available here). Once you have the tofu, rice, and kale done or nearly done, fry the eggs either sunny side up or over-easy. You could also poach the eggs if you prefer.

Plate by spooning tofu, kale, and kimchee over a mound of rice and topping with a fried egg. If it suites you, use the left over marinade from the tofu as a sauce.