Kung Pao Tofu

We are so in love with this dish! This is dinner once, sometimes twice a week! Everyone in the family enjoys Kung Pao Tofu and with a little planning, and food prep, this can cook up really quickly.

On the weeks that I am organized, I will spend a couple hours on Sunday afternoon prepping veggies and storing them for easy use in these handy airtight containers. The sauce can also be mixed up and stored in the refrigerator until you are ready to prepare the meal.

Also, my friend Matt recently made this recipe for the first time and had some great prep strategy. In the early afternoon, he prepared the tofu and then two versions of the sauce: one spicy, one mild (he omitted the arbol chiles). When it was time for dinner, he warmed the sauces again and added the tofu to serve for his son’s birthday dinner! Genius, Matt! Thank you. He was also inspired to photograph his process and share, his photo is below.

The funny thing that happened when I first shared the recipe with Matt via text was his response. “That looks amazing. I always love fried tofu, but am too lazy to make it. I’m sure your post will inspire me to make it again soon.” The very next day, he texted to ask, “How important are the dark soy sauce, rice wine, and mirin?” I laughed out loud, hilarious Matt…pretty important. I realize this was probably his very polite way of asking if we had any on hand to share. We are neighbors, so it was easy to share those few important ingredients for his first homemade Kung Pao Tofu dinner. And, I have shared this before but here it is again, Thrive Market has so many great and affordable products. We shop for some of our household staples and get them delivered right to our door, including the all important mirin and rice vinegar. If interested in shopping with them, please enjoy 40% off your first order with the link above. Yay for more savings.

This recipe is inspired by the original I found on the website: www.cookwithmanali.com. We made a small modification by using less cornstarch than the original recipe since we like the sauce just a little less thick. And, we double the batch because we love it that much! We are grateful to have found it (thank you, Manali) and to now share with you. Hope you love it as much as we do.

Kung Pao Tofu

Servings

4-6

servings

Cooking time

45

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

Ingredients

• Sautéed Tofu

• 28 oz (2 packages) extra-firm tofu, cubed

• 5 Tablespoons cornstarch *

• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper powder

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 5 Tablespoons Safflower, or your favorite oil to sauté in

• Kung Pao Sauce

• 6 Tablespoons soy sauce

• 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce

• 2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce

• 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar

• 2 Tablespoons mirin (rice wine)

• 1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons sriracha

• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch *

• Stir Fry
  

• 2 Tablespoons grated garlic

• 2 Tablespoons grated ginger

• 3-6 whole dried arbol chiles (to taste)

• 4 medium bell peppers, we like red, yellow, and orange (green works too)

• 2 medium red onions, sliced thin

• 3-5 stalks chopped green onion, optional for garnish

• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, optional to top the dish

• cilantro, optional for garnish

• abundant love

Directions

• Drain and press tofu for 30 minutes. In a pinch, you can skip the press; however, it is recommended to remove some of the water and enable the tofu to soak up more Pad Ka Pao sauce!
• While the tofu is pressing, grate the garlic and ginger. Then, chop the red chilies, red onion, and bell peppers. We like our onions and bell peppers sliced thin.
• Cut and prepare the garnishes you are using ( green onions, peanuts, and/or cilantro). We rarely garnish…the dish is just awesome anyway!
• After 30 minutes, the tofu is ready to be cubed and tossed into the bowl with the 5 T cornstarch, white pepper, and salt. Toss to coat. *
• Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet or wok to medium heat. Once hot, add the tofu to the pan (you may need to do a few batches, or use two pans). Cook 3-4 minutes on each side, flipping just once. Tofu should be golden brown and a little crispy. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel lined plate. Alternatively, you can “fry” the tofu in the oven by baking instead. For this method, place the tofu on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and be sure the pieces are not touching each other. Spray with olive oil and bake at 425 F for 12 minutes. Then, flip the pieces and spray once again, bake for another 12 minutes. ***
• Whisk together all the sauce ingredients: soy sauce, dark soy sauce, hoisin, rice vinegar, mirin, sriracha, sesame oil, brown sugar, and cornstarch. **
• Reheat your pan and add a bit more oil, then add the onion, garlic, ginger, and dried chilis and sautee for one minute. Add the sliced bell peppers and green onion (if using). Sautee 2-5 minutes then add half the sauce and the tofu. Mix to combine, then add the rest of the sauce and continue to mix until well combined. Remove from the heat, mix in the peanuts (if using).
• Serve immediately over rice and top with cilantro. Enjoy!

Notes

• * We have substituted tapioca flour or potato starch with great success. Same exact measurements!
• ** We mix all the ingredients well by shaking them in an airtight jar, then we add the cornstarch last once we have given a good shake and mix to all the other ingredients.
• *** We like this Misto spray container. Fill with extra-virgin olive oil and use it for all your cooking needs.