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?
This is so yummy. I made it for my two omni friends who were visiting. They loved it. They had convinced themselves that tofu was gross & that everything I ate must be bland and blah blah blah. One friend even asked when I would make it again months after she had eaten it the first time. It meant a lot that she hadnt forgot about it. It was just enough for 3 people to have generour portions. We ate it over some brown rice I cooked with veggie broth/stock. Thanks for the recipe. I havent made it since the summer but I think I will try again soon. The only down side is that it was a lot of prep & time. Well worth it though!
This was very good. It took me 3 days but I ate it all myself! I also doubled the sauce. :> I used tofu but will try it with other vegan meat subs till I find what I like best. If you are craving chinese food you need to try this.
This stuff is pretty good. I made it last night, and the sauce is sooooo good!! Next time I make it I will either cut my tofu pieces smaller, or use some vegan chicken strips or something. (my omni boyfriend wasn't too into the bigger sized pieces of tofu I used.... I thought it was good though)
Also, I doubled up on the sauce, and I'm glad I did!! I'm actually thinking about making the sauce with agave nectar instead of sugar, and making a ton of it and canning the stuff. Would be nice to have some on hand for when I'm feeling lazy (especially if i used chik'n strips)
WOW this was delicious! I didn't have vegetable stock and just used water and thought it was fantastic. I only used 3 instead of 4 tblsp sugar which was plenty. I added some broccoli. Will definitely make again, thank you!
Really amazing, cooked for my Vegan husband and it was the first thing Vegan that i've really loved. Can't wait to have it again.
I am eating this right now over brown rice. Awesome. :D
I never cook this well normally. General Tso's Chicken is one of my favorite Chinese food indulgences, and it's nice to know I can cook this at home to my liking, without the cholesterol, chemicals, and suffering typically involved in this dish. My only variations were: 1 less tablespoon sugar (due to others' complaints about over-sweetness), and a dash of hot chili oil (the main reason I like General Tso's so much is because it's spicy). I was also rather generous with the ground red pepper flakes. Turned out great!I had originally planned to saute everything in toasted sesame oil for added flavor, but I couldn't find it so I made do with plain vegetable oil. When I was done packing the leftovers away in the fridge and licking the remains of the sauce off the serving spoon, I saw it - tucked away next to the toaster oven. Next time sesame oil, next time...
I love how this recipe is so open to variation. I think next time I'll add in more veggies. And yes, as another poster suggested, I am kicking myself for not making more of the sauce. The sauce totally makes this dish. Also, the tofu turned out quite well, but I wonder if I could get away with using flour instead of cornstarch next time. If I payed attention, I could discern a little cornstarch-y "squeak" when I bit into the tofu pieces. Not enough to really bother me, and still quite tasty, but I can't help but wonder what else I could use. Anyway, I've rambled for long enough - verdict: General Tao's Tofu simply kicks ass.
I've always wanted to elarn how to make fried tofu and i learned with this recipe. I prefer baking the tofu, i just use spray cooking oil on a pan then shake tofu and cornstarch in paper bag before placing it on oiledpan then bake it at 350 until it's nice and golden brown. I'm going to try and marinate tofu next time just to give it more flavour. EXCELLENT RECIPE!!!
So easy to make and ingredients are cheap too. Last time I made this instead of sherry i used DonQ puerto rican rum and it tasted great. I also add chinese noodles and more veggies. I always use all vegetebles i can find in my fridge, whatever you got on hand and lots of onion (1 full onion) and a whole garlic head. ;)b
Anytime someone says to me 'you're vegan? What on earth do you eat?' and I suddenly am stumped, I mention this to show there is nothig boring about a vegan diet. Somehow 'all kinds of things' doesn't convince them that it isn't all carrots sticks, stir fries and veggie burgers, but who can say you're deprived if you have General Tao's???
I usually marinate the tofu or seitan in a bit of Braggs, garlic and onion powder, and sesame oil, just enough for some flavour without being overwhelming.
Definitely a household favourite.
:)>>> this is ridiculously good. i wish we would of doubled the sauce after reading the 500 reviews about it though.. we threw in string beans and carrots to the mix and I forgot to buy veggie broth, so used a packet of onion soup mixed into water instead. Also instead of white vinegar I threw in a splash of basalmic.
Great recipe, definatly added more veggies though. I also sub the sugar for agave nectar and use low sodium soy sauce though.
Pointer for those who cant get the cornstarch to stick is to make sure you heat the oil in your pan enough before adding the tofu. If the oil is not hot enough the cornstarch will not stick as well.
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