Easy Meal Prep Idea #2: Gochujang Tofu with Garlic Green Beans

I’m sharing a Korean-inspired easy meal prep idea to get your week off to a healthy and flavorful start!

I have a few criteria when it comes to meal prep: it must be relatively low effort, have a combination of carb/protein/vegetable, and of course, be delicious. We are busy people! I like eating more than cooking, but still want to have healthy and balanced home-cooked meals. If you’re like me, this series is for you.

Shopping List

• Firm tofu
• Green string beans or French beans
• Garlic (4-6 cloves)
• Oyster sauce (I buy this one)
• Gochujang marinade (I have this one) 
• Sesame seeds for garnish

1) Slice the tofu.

You can find tofu at pretty much any grocery store but it tends to be cheaper at Asian grocery stores. It comes in different types (silken, soft, firm) but I think firm is the easiest to work with when frying. It is less fragile when you’re trying to flip the tofu.

You can cut the tofu in any size you want! I went for 1/2 inch thick rectangles:

By the way, the knife I’m using is the Babish High-Carbon 6.5″ Santoku knife. I seriously love it! It costs less than $20 and you can buy it on Amazon. You would never guess with the quality and sharpness of this knife that it was so inexpensive.

2) Fry the tofu.

Some people like to rest something heavy on top of the tofu to drain excess moisture, but I am lazy. With this frying method, it’s not necessary!

Without turning on the heat, spread a thin layer of vegetable oil in a pan. I love this nonstick pan from OXO. Spread out your tofu slices in an even layer and try to avoid any overlap.

Heat the pan on high heat. I find that assembling the tofu on a cold pan prevents all the scary splatter when trying to lay wet tofu on top of hot oil!

Since the tofu has such high water content, it will take awhile to brown on each side. I check around the 5-minute mark and then adjust the time as necessary. When it has the golden color I want, I flip the tofu over and repeat.

When the tofu is finished, take your gochujang marinade and glaze each side with a silicone basting brush. I find Korean barbecue marinades in the Asian grocery store and use it to glaze tofu and marinate meats. If you don’t want to buy one, you can also make your own with gochujang paste, oil, and sugar to taste.

3) Make the garlic green beans.

I’m always heavy-handed with garlic but use however much you want! For 16 oz of beans, I minced 4 large cloves of garlic.

Wash and trim the green beans (if necessary). I hate snapping the ends off green beans so it’s worth it for me to spend a few extra bucks for the kind that already comes pre-trimmed.

Bring a pot of water to a boil to blanch the green beans to your desired softness. I blanch mine for about 5 minutes.

{RELATED: Easy Meal Prep Idea #1}

Once they’re done blanching, remove the beans and transfer to a wok that’s been heated with a little bit of oil. Toss the beans until they’re lightly coated with oil and add the garlic. Saute until the garlic is lightly golden and fragrant to take the raw edge off.

Add about 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce to the beans and garlic and stirfry till evenly distributed. At this point, you can do a taste test and decide if the beans need more or less oyster sauce. A little bit of oyster sauce goes a long way!

Oyster sauce is one of my favorite condiments to cook with. It really is an all-in-one sauce — it’s salty, has rich umami, and a touch of sweetness.

4) Put it all together!

You’re done! This gochujang tofu and garlic green beans are best paired with rice. I made enough brown rice to last me the week and topped the tofu with sesame seeds:

I hope you enjoyed this easy meal prep idea. Don’t be afraid to stop into your local Asian grocery store the next time you need inspiration!