Vegan Kung Pao Tofu is so easy and delicious to make. It packs a ton of flavour, and a kick of heat. Perfect when paired with rice.
What is kung pao?
Kung pao is a Chinese recipe where the food is stir-fried and served in a spicy sauce. It’s usually served with chicken, but today we’re using tofu!
I could go on and on about how defrosted tofu is an amazing substitute for chicken. The process of freezing and defrosting changes the texture of tofu from soft to chewy and meat-like. It also soaks up marinade really well, like a sponge.
If you’d like to know why, read about it here.
Vegan kung pao tofu sauce
The ingredients you’ll need to make the sauce are:
- soy sauce
- dark cooking caramel sauce, to give it colour
- vinegar
- sugar
- and some water
This dish is spicy because of dried red chili! Make sure to remove the seeds before adding them in.
Serve this dish with rice, or any carb of your choice. It will pair well with other vegetable dishes too 🙂
More tofu recipes for you to try:
- Sweet and Sour Tofu/酸甜豆腐 | v + gf
- Spicy Vegan Tofu Curry | gf
- Spicy Eggplant W/ Minced Tofu | v +gf
- Avocado Tahini Toast + Tofu Scramble | v + of
If you made this recipe, do leave a comment and rating below because I love hearing your feedback. Make sure to tag me on Instagram @eatwkriss so that I can see your recreations!
Vegan Kung Pao Tofu
Ingredients
- 250 g traditional/firm tofu defrosted (4 blocks)
Marinade
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- ⅔ cup cornstarch
To cook
- ½ knob of ginger minced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 6 dried chili chopped and deseeded
- 1 green capsicum/bellpepper cut
- 3 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts
Sauces
- ½ tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tbsp cooking caramel sauce
- ½ tsp vinegar
- ½ tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- white pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the marinade.
- Squeeze water out of defrosted tofu and break into bite-sized chunks. Toss in the marinade and let sit for at least 30 minutes or longer.
Cooking
- Heat a large pan over medium heat with some oil.
- Coat marinated tofu in cornstarch. Once the oil is hot, pan-fry tofu until crispy golden brown, 3-4 minutes.
- In the same pan with some oil, cook ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add in dried chili and capsicum, fry for 1 minute. Pour in all your sauces, and stir to combine.
- Add in your fried tofu, roasted peanuts and cook until everything is coated with the sauce.
- Serve immediately with rice.
Such a simple and yummy recipe that brings a Chinese dish to a healthier level 😊👍
thank you amanda! glad you liked it 🙂