Shredding tofu and baking or air-frying it to draw out excess moisture creates a unique texture that almost resembles ground meat. This shredded tofu bulgogi bowl is cooked down in a sauce that’s spicy, savoury, a little sweet, and oh-so flavourful. It’s a delicious tofu recipe you can prepare to serve over rice.
WHAT KIND OF TOFU IS BEST TO USE?
Using extra firm tofu or tokwa is key for this recipe. Firm might work too but can easily crumble. Silken or soft tofu will most definitely not work since it won’t be able to hold up when shredded.
SHREDDED TOFU
I first stumbled upon this shredded tofu technique on Tiktok and don’t recall exactly whose video i saw but was really intrigued and decided to give it a try. I love how the tofu comes out almost like minced meat, texture-wise, since baking or air frying it really draws out extra moisture from the tofu.
I cooked mine until golden brown and crisp on the edges while some pieces are still white and soft so when you add everything together, you get a really nice mix of textures.
The shredded tofu itself is a great vessel for any kind of sauce or marinade you like but I opted for a bulgogi style sauce.
BULGOGI SAUCE
This bulgogi sauce is inspired by Korean bulgogi. I love to use gochujang because of its distinct heat with a nice hint of sweetness and of course it’s umami. It’s also thick so helps bring the sauce together.
I added some grated Asian pear (grated Fuji apple works amazing too) for extra sweetness to the sauce.
INGREDIENTS FOR THIS TOFU RECIPE
You can find the full printable recipe in the card below! 🙂
TOFU
- 17.5 oz extra firm tofu
BULGOGI SAUCE
- 1/2 cup asian pear grated
- 1-2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1.5 tbsp gochujang
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1.5 tsp grated ginger
- 3 cloves garlic minced
TO SERVE
- Chopped green onions
- Sesame seeds
- Steamed rice, I used short grain or Japanese sushi rice
STEPS
FOR THE SHREDDED TOFU
- Remove the tofu from the water and drain from any excess water. Using a cheese grater, carefully grate the tofu into shreds.
- Meanwhile, preheat your air-fryer or oven to 350F/180C.
- On a lined baking tray or air fryer basket (I used parchment paper), place the shredded tofu and try to spread it out as thin as possible.
- For air-frying, air-fry for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown – do not overcook since it can easily harden and become too dry.
- You can flip the tofu halfway through cooking. It’s also okay not to get even browning and even have the tofu still white, since this can add to the different textures of the overall tofu dish.
- If baking, you may need to bake the tofu for 25-30 minutes.
SAUCE AND MARINATING
- While the tofu is cooking, prepare the sauce by mixing everything together. Feel free to adjust to your taste.
- Want it really saucy? You can double the sauce!
- Once the tofu is lightly golden brown and crisp on the edges, transfer it to the sauce. Mix well to coat.
COOKING THE SHREDDED TOFU BULGOGI
- In a medium wok or pan, add in the shredded tofu and sauce. Cook down over medium heat for 7-8 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and absorbed by the tofu. The sauce will also slightly thicken from the sugars in the sauce.
- Taste the tofu and feel free to season more, if desired.
- Turn off the heat. Serve this hot with rice and garnish with some chopped green onions & sesame seeds, if desired. Enjoy!
SERVE AND ENJOY!
MORE TOFU RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- Kung Pao Tofu
- Crispy Salt and Pepper Tofu
- Black Pepper Tofu Steaks
- Tofu “Chicken” Teriyaki
- Korean Spicy Braised Tofu
- Tofu Katsu
- Nori-Wrapped Tofu in Spicy Sauce
- Maple Hoisin Tofu
Shredded Tofu Bulgogi Rice Bowl
Ingredients
Tofu
- 17.5 oz extra firm tofu or tokwa
Sauce
- 1/2 cup grated asian pear or Fuji apple, (I peeled mine before grating)
- 1-2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1.5 tbsp gochujang
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1.5 tsp finely grated ginger
- 3 cloves garlic minced
To Serve
- Chopped green onions
- Sesame seeds
- Steamed rice , I used short grain or Japanese sushi rice
Instructions
SHREDDED TOFU
- Remove the tofu from the water and drain from any excess water. Using a cheese grater, carefully grate the tofu into shreds.
- Meanwhile, preheat your air-fryer or oven to 350F/180C.
- On a lined baking tray or air fryer basket (I used parchment paper), place the shredded tofu and try to spread it out as thin as possible.
- For air-frying, air-fry for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown – do not overcook since it can easily harden and become too dry.
- You can flip the tofu halfway through cooking. It’s also okay not to get even browning and even have the tofu still white, since this can add to the different textures of the overall tofu dish.
- If baking, you may need to bake the tofu for 25-30 minutes.
PREPARE THE SAUCE
- While the tofu is cooking, prepare the sauce by mixing everything together. Feel free to adjust to your taste.
- Want it really saucy? You can double the sauce!
ADD THE TOFU TO THE SAUCE
- Once the tofu is lightly golden brown and crisp on the edges, transfer it to the sauce. Mix well to coat.
COOKING
- In a medium wok or pan, add in the shredded tofu and sauce. Cook down over medium heat for 7-8 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and absorbed by the tofu. The sauce will also slightly thicken from the sugars in the sauce.
- Taste the tofu and feel free to season more, if desired.
- Turn off the heat. Serve this hot with rice and garnish with some chopped green onions & sesame seeds, if desired. Enjoy!
NUTRITIONAL INFO
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This Post Has 56 Comments
Made this tonight and it was delicious!
Yay, thank yo Angela! ◡̈
Had some leftover carrots that we shredded in, too. Delicious!
yay hope you enjoyed it Olivia! Thanks so much! ◡̈
Followed another commenters lead and added grated carrots on top but this is 12/10 im going to be making this weekly i fear… thank you for the recipe!!!
Hope you enjoyed it Momo! Thanks so much for leaving a review too, rly helps!! ◡̈
this is my new FAVORITE way to make tofu!!! shredding and drying out in the oven is genius. plus this sauce is so good! decided to make this style of tofu into a gyoza filling and it turned out amazing!
Omg I can imagine how good this must’ve been as dumpling filling! Need to try soon. Thanks so much for giving it a try and glad you like it ◡̈
Do you pat dry or press the tofu before shredding?
Yes I do! It’s not crucial and you can opt to skip the pressing since the tofu will dehydrate in the air-fryer and the water will evaporate anyway. But pressing water out can speed up the cooking time ◡̈ hope this helps!
Excellent! This was nice, crispy and flavorful.
Thanks Jay, hope you enjoyed it! ◡̈
Thanks for this recipe! This dish was delicious, easy, and quick. I’m sure we’ll make it many more times.
Thanks so much Steven! ◡̈
Made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit! Will definitely make it again. Big fan of the final texture of the tofu (using the baking method), so I will probably also use this technique with different sauces in the future 🙂
Thanks Lucia, so happy you liked it! ◡̈
This was so good and was a hit with my kids! I will definitely make this again.
Yay thanks Robyn! ◡̈
Hi, I made this today, and it wowed me! Flavors are on point! I added 1/2 teaspoon of gochugaru to the sauce for more spice and paired it with pickled carrots with rice. Thanks!
Thanks for giving it a try Gillian! ◡̈
tried this yesterday and it was delicious! have you tried using TVP instead of the shredded tofu? i feel like it has a similar texture + you wouldn’t have to bake/air fry it before using
I’ve tried TVP with other recipes but not this, though yes it should work well too! I just don’t like how TVP has a distinct flavor at times but if you don’t mind then it shouldn’t be a problem ◡̈
Okay I never leave comments but this was sooo delicious!!
Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks so much Justine! Appreciate you leaving this review ◡̈
Tried it, loved it! Brilliant idea to shred the tofu an cook it first in the air fryer. Also I prepared the sushi rice which adds a little ‘je ne sais quoi’. Great recipe, thank you!
Thanks so much Laurence! ◡̈
Flavorful, but not much of a sauce. Seems like it all got absorbed by the tofu. Followed the instructions, but felt like I did something wrong or forgot an ingredient. Ended up with dry, flavored tofu. Not saucy. What did I do wrong?
Hi Dennis! The tofu might’ve absorbed much of the sauce leaving you with not much left. This can vary depending on how cooked your tofu is and how much water is left inside – since the more it’s dehydrated, the more it can absorb the sauce. If you want it extra saucy you can double the sauce recipe to mix with the tofu upon cooking. You can also always adjust the seasoning to your taste. Hope this helps!
Really delicious. Full of flavor, and the chewy, crispy, soft tofu texture was amazing. I used firm tofu instead of extra firm, after pressing between clean dish towels for about 30 minutes. It was crumbly, but it shredded well enough. Will make about 50% more sauce next time, because I like saucy bulgogi. I’m sure this will become a household favorite! It was so easy!
Yay thanks Mary! And making more sauce is a great idea! ◡̈
I love tokwa/tofu but I find that even the firm ones that I buy from my local Asian store is not as firm as the ones I used to buy from the Philippines. Have you tried a tofu press? Thoughts? Maybe I just need to find another brand. I enjoyed this recipe btw 🙂
Hi Van! You can try looking for those in vacuum sealed pouches in Asian stores, and not those in plastic boxes with water in them. I find that they’re a lot firmer. I forgot the brand I got from a Chinese store recently but in most supermarkets in the US, there’s the brand Nasoya that has a really firm tofu. ◡̈ and thank you!
Just so so delicious! I added two grated carrots, doubled the sauce (and even added a bit of stock to makeup for the additional ingredients). Will make again!
Thanks Maren! The carrots are a great addition! Glad you liked it ◡̈
This is such a delicious recipe. I made this as a meal prep and have enjoyed it so much everyday for lunch. Thank you for this🫶🏻
Yay thanks so much too, Kelsey! So happy u liked it ◡̈
This recipe was a complete winner, especially the sauce. My air fryer runs a bit hot so some of the tofu got a bit harder than I prefer but the dish was still delicious. I will definitely be adding this to my lunch and dinner rotations.
Thanks so much Anby! Happy you liked it 🙂
I have made this twice now and even the fussiest members of my family wolfed it down. Such a hit! Tonight, I had a head of cauliflower that I needed to use so I grated it in with the tofu and it was awesome. My son thought it was meat. 😂😂
Ooh that grated cauliflower is a great idea!! Glad everyone enjoyed it ◡̈
This made my non-tofu eating husband go back for seconds! Sooo good. Short of 5 stars only coz the sauce def needs to be doubled. It was not at all “saucy” after combining the sauce and tofu, therefore very little to “cook down” , but I did for few min anyway just so everything was heated through. and again, super delicious! I can’t wait to experiment with other flavors using shredded/baked tofu like this ( my first time!!! ) Thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks so much! Appreciate you leaving a review! ◡̈
Absolutely delicious! I doubled the sauce, added gochugaru and red chili flakes for more heat, and served with rice and kimchi. I’m adding it to my list of go-to recipes.
Thanks Brenda, glad you liked it! ◡̈
This was AMAZING. I was short on gochujang (had less left in the container than I thought) And didn’t have quite enough to double the sauce recipe, so I had to supplement with cayenne and paprika, which really worried me. But to my surprise it ended up tasting so so so delicious. To give it a healthier spin, I used brown rice and added a whole whack of broccoli slaw (shredded broccoli and cabbage) to the saucy tofu. Thank you so much!
Hi Katie, thanks so much for leaving a review! Glad you liked it ◡̈
This was ABSOLUTELY delicious and super easy toooo!!!
Yaaay, hope you enjoyed it Ekta! ◡̈
So amazingly delicious. i have made it three times now and we just love it.
Glad you do hehe thank you!! ◡̈
I made this for lunch today and it was amazing! I’ve never prepared tofu by shredding it before, but it’s delicious! Will definitely be going into my rotation!
Glad you gave it a try Jackie! Thanks so much ◡̈
Simply amazing 😍
Thank you Vincent! ◡̈
Perfect flavor and texture
Thank you Dena!