17.249 Spicy, Saucy Tofu

Cycle 17 – Item 249

Post 6,093

11 (Fri) September 2026

Spicy, Saucy Tofu

3.0

by me

at home

-Oksu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with IZ

Chef Esther Choi – owner of restaurant Mokbar in New York (among others), frequent guest/star of various shows on Food Network (notably, Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend, where she won the Battle Tailgate challenge against Iron Chef Marcus Samuelsson) and YouTube (notably, First We Feast, where she hosts Heat Eaters, a spin-off of Hot Ones) – has recently released her first cookbook: Hand Taste (Cook Like a Korean Grandmother).

I brought home a sample provided to us by the publisher (Hachette) to try out a few recipes.

Spicy, Saucy Tofu – described in the book: “if sundubu jjigae and mapo tofu had a baby, it would be this dish” – was the first.

Whereas nonna (grandmother) is traditionally revered in Italian cooking, I don’t believe that the same holds true for halmeoni (grandmother) in Korea – though I don’t discount that Esther’s own grandmother was a great cook. 

It was okay.  Exactly like mapa tofu in texture, but Korean in taste with the kimchi.  No Korean grandmother would ever make anything like it.

(See RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)

(See GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See HANSIK)

(See BOOZE)

Leave a Reply