General Tao's Tofu
1 (12 ounce) box firm tofu, in 1" cubes (frozen and thawed, if desired)
1 egg equivalent (e.g., EnerG Egg Replacer), prepared
3 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons water, divided
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon cornstarch, divided
vegetable oil for frying + 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
3 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2/3 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon sherry, optional
red pepper, to taste
steamed broccoli, to serve
1. Mix the egg replacer as specified on the box and add an additional 3 tablespoons water. Dip tofu in egg replacer mixture and coat completely. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cornstarch over tofu and coat completely. Watch out that the cornstarch doesn't clump up at the bottom of the bowl.
2. Heat oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden. Drain oil. Heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in pan on medium heat. Add green onions, ginger, and garlic; cook for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn garlic.
3. Add vegetable stock, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, sherry, and red pepper.
4. Mix 2 tablespoons water with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and pour into mixture stirring well. Add fried tofu and coat evenly.
Serve immediately with steamed broccoli over your choice of rice.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
So this recipe was absolutely positively amazing. Loved it! Husband loved it and we will have it again and again. Thank You for a great recipe! :)>>>
This seems simple enough but the video doesn't follow anything in the recipe.
treehugginghippiefreak (no offense) and amymylove,
I think you're both right and my ignorance was the problem in this case (and many of my other cases too, probably).
The recipe called for "1 box of firm tofu" so I checked the pantry and found 1 box (check!) of firm tofu (check!). However, I believe it was actually Mori-Nu Silken Firm Tofu, so: "There's yer problem!"
I just did some homework and see that there are different kinds. Thanks for steering me in the right direction--I'll try again with the proper ingredients and hopefully my Amy will enjoy the results. :)
Did you use silken? That could have been the problem.
That's exactly my thought... That wouldn't happen using regular firm tofu... Make sure you use a non stick pan too or it will turn into a mess
Did you use silken? That could have been the problem.
Wow, that was disappointing.
I followed the instructions to the letter, using a box of firm tofu and even freezing the tofu squares, but once the tofu hit the frying pan it turned to porridge. Instead of golden, fried tofu cubes the melted results resembled mashed potatoes.
I guess the remainder of the recipe went okay but I'm glad I wasn't serving this to guests--the results were most unimpressive, despite my initial high hopes.
I made this last night and it was wonderful!! Thanks for sharing :)
This was great! I loved the texture of the tofu with cornstarch. All around great recipe that I will use over and over.
I forgot to add that I didn't use steamed broccoli but instead I stir fried onions, green peppers, mushrooms and carrots when I was sautee-ing the garlic and ginger, etc.
That made it seem like real Chinese take out and the doubled sauce recipe thickened up nicely and the veggies still were slightly crips. Next time, might chinese pea pods or throw in some chopped water chestnuts for crunch.
Wow, even omnivore boyfriend loved it and claimed it was better than take-out Chinese! I took previous reviewers' advice and doubled the sauce (except for the sugar... kept that at the same original measurement - I think if I doubled the sugar, it would have been too sweet. I usually fry my tofu using flour and spices but the cornstarch seemed to help it stay crispier in the sauce. Will be making this again! Thanks for a great recipe! :)>>>
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