Vegan Kung Pao Tofu
Quick and easy Vegan Kung Pao Tofu for week night meals. This recipe can be made in few minutes and best healthy alternative.
Vegan Kung Pao Tofu
What if the Kung Pao Chicken had vegan sister? What would be it called? I’d love to say Kung Pao Tofu!!
For years now, I always wanted to try Kung Pao dish but I don’t eat meat. And I never came across the Vegan version in any of the restaurants we visited. Finally decided to recreate the Kung Pao recipe but with Vegan options. What a delight it was!
Kung Pao Tofu is the best recipe you will come across. It’s sweetish- spicy with a hint of tanginess. The interesting sauces bring out the best taste.
This recipe is easy and is ready in few minutes making it as my top 5 go-to recipes for busy weeknights.
Making Kung Pao Tofu..
Making Kung Pao Tofu is really easy and believe me when I say that this vegan version is better than any Kung Pao Chicken.
You will need basic ingredients like garlic, ginger, chilies, sriracha sauce, soy sauce and honey/maple syrup. A good old wok or cast iron pan to make Kung Pao recipe is a must!
To make Kung Pao..
- In a wok/ pan, heat 3 tbsp oil on medium flame.
- Once the oil is hot, add 4 cloves of garlic, 1 inch ginger and 3-4 Thai chilis.
- Saute the garlic and chilies until golden brown.
- Then add 1 medium roughly chopped red onion.
- Saute the onions for 1 minute/until soft.
- After the onions are soft, add 1 cup of colored peppers chopped roughly.
- Along with bell peppers, add 1 small zucchini (sliced thinly) and 1/2 cup broccoli.
- Mix everything well and let it cook for 2 minutes.
- Make sure the veggies are just cooked and not mushy.
- Add the crispy tofu (see below for making roasted tofu).
- Then add the Kung Pao sauce and give it a good mix. Make sure all the veggies are coated equally.
- Turn off the flame and add a handful of roasted peanuts to finish off the dish.
Roasted Tofu..
To make crispy tofu for the Kung Pao, you need to use Organic Tofu slab (85gm). I am using half of this half of the slab i.e 40gm.
- Drain the water from the tofu slab and place the tofu on a plate.
- On top of the tofu slab, place a tissue and then place something over it. This helps to drain remaining water from the tofu.
- Keep this arrangement for about 10 mins to help drain the water.
- Now transfer the tofu slab to the cutting board and cut it into cubes/rectangular shape.
- Transfer these cubes to a mixing bowl and add 1 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tsp pepper powder and 1 tsp salt. Also add 1tbsp olive oil. Place a lid over the bowl and gently shake to help coat all the tofu cubes.
- Now in a shallow pan, add 4-5 tbsp oil and let it heat on medium flame. Once the oil heats, add tofu cubes. Let the lower side of the cube turn golden brown and then flip to roast the other side until golden brown.
- Once done, transfer to a tissue lined plate and let it rest for a minute.
- Add these roasted tofu pieces to the stir -fried veggies.
The Kung Pao sauce..
- To make Kung Pao sauce you will need 2 tbsp of Sriracha hot sauce, 2 tbsp soy sauce/tamari, 2 tbsp of honey/maple syrup.
- Mix all the above ingredients in a bowl and pour over the stir fried veggies. Mix until all the veggies are coated with the sauce.
- In-order to make this sauce thick, you can add 1 tsp of corn starch or arrowroot powder when mixing. This will help you get a thicker gravy like version.
Kung Pao Tofu
Quick and easy Vegan Kung Pao Tofu for week night meals. This recipe can be made in few minutes and best healthy alternative.
Ingredients
Roasted Tofu
- 40 gms Firm tofu
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp pepper powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp oil
Kung Pao sauce
- 2 tbsp Sriracha hot sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce/tamari
- 2 tbsp honey/maple syrup
Kung Pao Tofu
- 3 tbsp oil
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 inch ginger finely chopped
- 4-5 Thai chilies adjust spice as per requirement. Thai chilis are spicy
- 1 medium red onion roughly chopped
- 1 cup colored bell peppers red+green
- 1 small zucchini
- 1/2 cup broccoli roughly chopped
Instructions
Roasted Tofu
- Drain the water from the tofu slab and place the tofu on a plate. See the blog for more details to drain Tofu.
- Transfer these cubes to a mixing bowl and add 1 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tsp pepper powder and 1 tsp salt. Also add 1tbsp oil.
- Place a lid over the bowl and gently shake to help coat all the tofu cubes.
- Now in a shallow pan, add 4-5 tbsp oil and let it heat on medium flame. Once the oil heats, add tofu cubes.
- Let the lower side of the cube turn golden brown and then flip to roast the other side until golden brown.
- Once done, transfer to a tissue lined plate and let it rest for a minute.
Kung Pao Sauce
- Add 2 tbsp of Sriracha hot sauce, 2 tbsp soy sauce/tamari, 2 tbsp of honey/maple syrup.
- Mix all the above ingredients in a bowl and keep it ready to pour over the stir fried veggies.
Kung Pao Tofu
- In a wok/ pan, heat 3 tbsp oil on medium flame.
- Once the oil is hot, add 4 cloves of garlic, 1 inch ginger and 3-4 Thai chilis.
- Saute the garlic and chilies until golden brown.
- Then add 1 medium roughly chopped red onion. Saute the onions for 1 minute/until soft. After the onions are soft, add 1 cup of colored peppers chopped roughly.
- Along with bell peppers, add 1 small zucchini (sliced thinly) and 1/2 cup broccoli.
- Mix everything well and let it cook for 2 minutes. Make sure the veggies are just cooked and not mushy.
- Add the crispy tofu.
- Then add the Kung Pao sauce and give it a good mix. Make sure all the veggies are coated equally.
- Turn off the flame and add a handful of roasted peanuts to finish off the dish.
Notes
I have used US measuring cups for measuring the ingredients. For more details. click here
Something about me...
Hi!
I am Jui. If you love tea, vegetarian food and lots of giggles, we probably work on the same wavelength. I mostly re-create long lost Maharashtrian traditional recipes and also develop recipes that are vegan and vegetarian.
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