The BEST tacos EVER. Seriously. The Best.
This Korean “fried” tofu is the crispiest tofu I have ever had. Not only that, it is actually not fried at all, but baked and still, crispy AF. These vegan Korean fried tofu tacos are my new favorite taco. Spicy, crispy, delicious and actually pretty dang good for you. Also, did I mention the crispiest tofu happens to also be gluten free? It is, you can have the best vegan and gluten free tacos ever by just using corn tortillas!
This recipe is also incredibly easy. All you need to do is marinate, coat and bake the tofu. That’s it. Fill tortillas with Korean crisp AF tofu, top with kimchi, cilantro and some banging Gochujang mayo. The Gochujang mayo is just whisked together in 2 seconds and is only 3 ingredients.
The combination of Korean tofu, kimchi and Gochujang mayo is eye rollingly amazing. I know I have a winner when I exclaim “OH.MY.GOD.” Even when no one is around to hear me. That means is is damn delicious. The perfect way to switch up your boring vegan tacos. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good bean taco, but one does like to switch it up for something slightly more exciting every now and then!
The marinade for the tofu is super simple and super flavorful! You can find Gochujang pretty easily. I saw some at my local grocery store(Publix) in the Asian section, also at Whole Foods, and I ultimately bought some at the Asian market near me. If you do have an Asian market, it is usually cheaper there. However, if you don’t, you should still be able to find some. It is super fragrant, and super yummy!
I don’t think it is possible to not like these Korean “fried” tofu tacos. They are perfect! Give them a try, you won’t regret it!
Vegan Korean "Fried" Tofu Tacos
Ingredients
Korean "Fried" Tofu
- 1 Block Extra Firm Tofu
- 1 C. Almond milk or non dairy milk of choice
- 1 tsp. Rice wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. Gochujang paste
- 2 Tbsp. Soy sauce
- 2 tsp. Agave
- 1 C. Corn starch
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1 tsp. Chili powder
- 2 1/2 C. Corn flakes, crushed
Gochujang Mayo
- 1/2 C. Vegan mayo
- 1 tsp. Gochujang paste
- 2 tsp. Rice wine vinegar
Instructions
- Drain the tofu, place on paper towels and press a bit of the liquid out. Now cut the tofu into cubes.
- Now, in a large bowl, make a marinade. Add the almond milk and rice wine vinegar. Whisk. Let sit for a minute. Now whisk in the gochujang paste, soy sauce and agave.
- Now add the tofu cubes to the marinade. Try fully cover the tofu in the marinade. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes. Stirring every once in a while to make sure all the tofu soaks up the marinade.
- Now preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Then coat the tofu. In one bowl add the crushed corn flakes. In another bowl add the corn starch, salt and chili powder. Whisk together.
- Now take a piece of tofu, dredge in the corn starch, dip back into the marinade coating completely. Then toss in the corn flakes coating completely. Place onto a baking sheet sprayed with non stick spray. Repeat until all the tofu is coated. Then spray the tops of the tofu with non stick spray.
- Bake the tofu for 30 minutes. Flipping halfway through.
- While the tofu is baking make the gochujang mayo. Whisk together the vegan mayo, gochujang and rice wine vinegar.
- Once the tofu is done, take a tortilla, stuff with tofu, kimchi and cilantro, then top with gochujang mayo and maybe sesame seeds.
- Serve immediately. They are good.
Notes
These are SO good! I didn’t have cornflakes, but I had a bag of the Trader Joe’s rice cracker medley, so i threw those in the food processor. Used gochujang pepper I have in the freezer from making kimchi, and my own kimchi. I was skeptical along the way, but I love it!
Yay! I’m so glad you liked it!❤
I made these last night and they are exceptional! I just used a gluten free bread crumb I had on hand but otherwise stuck to the recipe. Really great.
I’m super excited to try this recipe! I’m out of cornstarch at the moment, so I was wondering if all purpose flour could be an alternative? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated :).
Yes, I think that all purpose flour will work out fine! I hope you enjoy!
Hi Lauren! Is there any substitute for Gochujang? I’ve never heard of this & wouldn’t even know where to look. But this recipe must be made! It looks incredible!!!!
Gochujang is Korean chili paste, so any chili paste would work. Or sriracha would work. If you are in a pinch, you could use your favorite hot sauce.
I bought Gochujang on-line after making a batch of kimchi with red pepper flake and deciding it was worth ordering the real stuff. I bought it from https://shop.crazykoreancooking.com/. A lot of their products are organic, too. I got this one: https://shop.crazykoreancooking.com/collections/gochugaru/products/usda-organic-gochugaru-hot-pepper-flakes-10-6-oz. I kept it in the freezer. Just ran out with my last batch of kimchi and need to order more. I think it lasted me 3 batches of kimchi (1 gallon pickling crock) and 2 batches of these tacos. Make your first batch with whatever you can get. If (when) you love it, order the real stuff!
I’m laughing at myself for not looking more closely at the link I sent! It looks like the company has gone to wholesale quantities and prices. The individual amounts are sold through amazon! It’s not worth paying $313 for!
Tofu came out crispy and tasty without frying. I will be using this method of breading&baking for many recipes. Used siracha.
Thanks for the great recipe
They look great! But I am confused. Corn flakes are not gluten free (unless there is a new version that I didn’t know about). Also be careful with the Gochujang…I have accidentally bought some that was not gluten free.
Nestle, Kellogg’s, Nature’s Path and Arrowhead Mills all make gluten free Corn Flakes! I hope that helps!
Yes!!!! These were great, I used Panko instead of corn flakes and it worked just fine. I already had sauerkraut and didn’t want to buy Kimchi, so I added some Gochujang paste to the sauerkraut. Not a great sub but it worked well in the taco.
This was pretty easy to make and I already had most of the ingredients. A bit of a mess to do the breading but that’s typical when you make something like this. Thank you for your amazing recipes!!!!
These were yummy – I couldn’t find the Gochujang, but I found a chili paste called Sambal Oelek (I believe it’s Indonesian?). Didn’t know if the corn flakes were be to sugar-free…so I just bought Panko bread crumbs. Anyhow, 10/10 would recommend!
Holy. Fuck. These were amazing.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from these, but they basically tasted like a Korean fish taco. The only thing I did differently was used season panko instead of corn flakes.
I saved this recipe a few months ago and had been waiting for the right time. Well, after unwrapping an Instant Pot/Air Fryer unit I decided this was the perfect recipe to make. The tofu was so good in the air fryer, although I have no doubt it is also great in the oven. The flavors and textures are amazing! I have never had tofu so crunchy. The kimchi was the perfect complement and the sauce was to die for. I love gochujang so much. This will be on repeat around here from now on. Thank you so much!
These were delicious and reheated really well today for lunch! The tofu is flavorful and the texture is great. Will def make them again. Thank you <3
These were so crunchy and crispy and DELICIOUS!! I will be adding these to the roster for every taco Tuesday. Thank you for the recommendation!!