General Tso’s Tofu with Bok Choy and Shitake Mushrooms
January 21st, 2007
Stumble it!
I’ve been reading good things about the General Tao’s Tofu found on VegWeb, so I decided to give it a go. I’ve copied and pasted the recipe below and edited it to show you my changes in the ingredients section.
If you’ve never heard of General Tso’s tofu (or chicken), perhaps you’ve heard of General Tao’s? Or General Gau’s? Or General Chou’s, General Tzo’s, General To’s, General So’s, General Joe’s, and General Toso’s, General Chow’s, or simply General Chicken.
It’s ridiculous. This is one game of telephone that has gone horribly, horribly wrong.
I found the recipe to be pretty solid. If I make it again, I think I will add more cornstarch to the sauce to thicken it even more. It seemed thick in the pan, but turned to soup when I plated. Perhaps the bok choy gave off excess water when it cooked? I also completely forgot to dredge the tofu in cornstarch after the egg replacer, but it still turned out just fine. I wonder if it would have stayed crispy in the sauce if I had remembered.
Recipe after the jump.
General Tso’s Tofu
Serves four
1 box of firm tofu
egg substitute for 1 egg
3/4 cup cornstarch
vegetable oil for frying
3 chopped green onions
1 Tbs tsp minced powdered ginger
1 Tbs minced garlic
2/3 cup vegetable stock 1/2 veg bullion cube
2 3 Tbs soy sauce
4 3 Tbs sugar
red pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon sherry (optional)
1 Tablespoon white seasoned rice vinegar
steamed broccoli
My Additions:
3 Bunches Baby Bok Choy
1 Cup sliced Shitake Mushrooms
Directions:
Drain, dry and cut tofu into 1 inch chunks. You can freeze tofu the night before to get a more chicken-like consistency, but it isn’t necessary. Mix the egg replacer as specified on the box and add an additional 3 tablespoons water. Dip tofu in egg replacer/water 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.
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. Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper and vinegar. 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.
6 Comments
1. gm | January 21st, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Did you ever think of using arrowroot to thicken instead of the cornstarch? I’ve used it in a vegan white sauce (soy, rice, etc) and it worked fairly well…as for the non-crispy aspect of your dish, perhaps the tofu absorbed too much of the liquid to really crisp?
2. jess (of Get Sconed!) | January 23rd, 2007 at 12:06 pm
I like that recipe too, but it’s certainly not a favorite of mine. Yours, however, looks like the tastiest rendition I’ve seen so far!
I’m with gm, when I made it, I tossed everything in the sauce just before eating as to keep some crispness for the fu.
3. Lolo (VeganYumYum) | January 23rd, 2007 at 12:22 pm
GM – I use arrowroot for some things, but I find cornstarch to be perfect for thickening stir fry type meals. Arrowroot can lose its thickening power if you heat it too much, and it’s more expensive than cornstarch, so I only use it when I think it’s worth it. :)
The tofu was super crispy after I fried it, but softened in the sauce.
Jess – Thanks! I think I definitely need to add the tofu at the last minute, as well as make a thicker sauce. PS – Your comment showed up twice, so I hope you don’t mind that I deleted one of them! :)
4. Kelly | June 4th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
I am newly veggi, and I’ve been trying to find a tofu recipe that I like, and this is it!! I used flour insted of cornstarch (cause I didn’t have any) and I also added a bit of corn meal to coat the tofu to add a bit of crispy-ness.
5. Recipes for the week of 1&hellip | December 13th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
[...] General Tso’s Tofu with Bok Choy and Mushrooms [...]
6. Allie | January 31st, 2010 at 11:38 pm
This has become one of my favorites to make when my husband and I are in the mood for take out.