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    Home » International » Chinese » Kung Pao Tofu

    Kung Pao Tofu

    Posted on January 8, 2021 · Last Updated on January 7, 2021 · By Srividhya G · 48 Comments

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    kung pao tofu served on white bowl placed on a green mat with text overlay

    Kung pao tofu – my vegetarian take on the popular Chinese dish! Deep-fried tofu stir-fry with peanuts and sweet and spicy kung pao sauce.

    Learn how to make the deep-fried kung pao tofu with detailed step-wise pictures.

    overhead shot of kung pao tofu placed on a white bowl with a side bowl filled with rice and tofu

    In the intro, I mentioned this is “my” vegetarian take on the Chinese dish. Instead, I should have mentioned it as “our” (my husband and I) take on the Chinese dish kung pao chicken. :-)

    My husband loves this kung pao tofu, especially the one served in one of the Chinese restaurants in Folsom. He always wanted to recreate it at home, and he did it. Actually, he made it for the first time for mother’s day lunch back in 2010. 

    Jump to:
    • What’s kung pao
    • Kung Pao Tofu with readily available ingredients
    • The preparation process
    • Dietary Specifications and serving suggestions
    • How to make kung pao tofu
    • Recipe Notes:
    • More Tofu Recipes
    • 📖 Recipe

    In these years, we have made it several times and perfected it to suit our taste buds. Like every other dish, there are different variations/versions of kung pao tofu. We always love to deep fry our tofu, which I have shared here. 

    What’s kung pao

    So what’s kung pao tofu? In simple words, it is the vegetarian version of kung pao chicken. :-) 

    In Chinese, it is transcribed as Gong Bao, and this is originated from South-Western China. This dish is named after the official – Ding BaoZen. [Referred here] His title was Gong and hence the name. But according to CNN, this dish is not as popular in China as in western countries. People have a love-hate relationship, it seems. Interesting huh? Anyway, I don’t want to get into a detailed history. Let’s get back to the dish. 

    Kung Pao Tofu with readily available ingredients

    My version of kung pao tofu is definitely not the authentic or the traditional one. I did not use Sichuan peppercorns or hoisin sauce, but I substituted with commonly available pantry ingredients. I used regular black peppercorns, and for a kick, I included some cloves, but that’s completely optional. Also, I used Indian dried red chili variety, and nothing special here either. But trust me, it’s equally delicious as the restaurant takeout. 

    The preparation process

    The first and foremost step is to press the tofu. I highly recommend extra-frim tofu for this recipe. I don’t have a tofu presser. So I just wrap the tofu in a towel and place a heavy object on top and let it sit for 30 to 40 minutes. 

    kung pao tofu served on white bowl placed on a green mat

    Then you prepare a batter to coat the tofu and deep fry them. Ok, let me warn you – if you start tasting this fried tofu, you cannot stop with just one. So please make sure you fry some extra tofu for munching. On a side note, the deep-fried tofu is a delicious starter on its own.

    Once you have the deep-fried tofu, you just need to prepare a simple sauce with lots of peanuts, add this fried tofu, and cook. That’s it. 

    Dietary Specifications and serving suggestions

    This is a vegan dish. I have used all-purpose flour for the batter. If you want to skip deep-frying and making this dish free of all-purpose flour, you can coat the tofu with corn starch and shallow-fry the tofu. 

    We love this tofu dish with rice. You can serve it with jasmine rice or any rice of your choice. Or you can also pair it with noodles. 

    Now let’s see how to make this kung pao tofu in detail. 

    How to make kung pao tofu

    Deep-Fry Tofu:

    • Press the tofu in your preferred way, remove the excess water as much as possible, and cut them into cubes. Heat the oil for frying. In a mixing bowl, add the all-purpose flour, corn starch, salt, and baking powder. Mix well. Add water little by little and make the batter. It should not be too runny or too thick. 
    the batter for tofu
    • Dip the tofu cubes in the prepared batter and slowly drop them into the hot oil. Deep fry them till they turn golden brown. Flip them as required while deep-frying.
    deep frying tofu
    • Fry them in batches, place the fried tofu on parchment paper or tissue paper and drain the excess oil. Set them aside.
    deep fried tofu

    Prepare the sauce and make kung pao tofu.

    • Heat a pan or wok. (As you can see, I am using my Dutch-oven here) Add the peanut oil and when the oil is hot, add the black peppercorns, cloves, and dried red chilies. Saute until the red chilies slightly bulge and change color. Add the roasted peanuts and cook for 30 seconds.
    roasting spices and peanuts
    • Now add the green onions and cook for a couple of minutes.
    adding the green onions
    • At this stage, add the sauces – soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce, sugar, and salt. Let the sauce simmer for a minute.
    adding the sauces
    • Now add the fried tofu and mix well. Make sure you coat the tofu well in the sauce and cook for a couple of minutes.
    adding tofu
    • Suppose you have any leftover batter that you used for deep-frying the tofu. In that case, you can use that to thicken the sauce, or you can mix 2 tbsp of corn starch with 2 tbsp of water and add it to the tofu mix to thicken it. You can skip this step entirely if you prefer slightly runny sauce.
    adding slurry
    • After adding the slurry, cook the tofu for a couple of minutes and turn off the heat. Garnish it with green onions and serve warm with rice or noodles. 
    kung pao tofu ready to be served

    Recipe Notes:

    • I highly recommend extra-frim tofu for this recipe. 
    • We did not include any ginger or garlic. But you can add finely chopped 2 cloves of garlic and 1-inch of ginger.
    • Adjust the salt and chili sauce/dried red chilies as per your taste. 
    • After adding green onions, you can add some veggies as well. 
    • I used store-bought roasted peanuts. If you are using raw peanuts, roast them first. 
    • Pressing the tofu – I don’t have a tofu presser. I just wrap the tofu in a towel and place a heavy object on top and let it sit for 30 to 40 minutes. You can check my homemade paneer post for the same. 
    • If you want to skip deep-frying and making this dish free of all-purpose flour, you can coat the tofu with corn starch and shallow-fry the tofu. 
    kung pao tofu served on white bowl placed on a green mat

    More Tofu Recipes

    • Teriyaki Tofu With Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
    • Vegan Tofu and Tomato Curry
    • Quiche | Eggless Mixed Vegetable and Tofu Quiche
    • Instant Pot Broccoli Tofu Stir Fry

    P.S.:  If you try this kung pao tofu, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it A.S.A.P. Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas! Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates! You can also sign-up for my newsletter for weekly updates.

    📖 Recipe

    kung pao tofu served on white bowl placed on a green mat
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    5 from 1 vote

    Kung pao tofu

    Kung pao tofu – my vegetarian take on the popular Chinese dish! Deep-fried tofu stir-fry with peanuts and sweet and spicy kung pao sauce.
    Prep Time5 mins
    Cook Time40 mins
    Tofu Pressing Time30 mins
    Total Time1 hr 15 mins
    Course: Entree
    Cuisine: Chinese
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 795kcal
    Author: Srividhya G

    Equipment

    • wok or kadai

    Ingredients

    Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml; 1tbsp=15ml; 1tsp=5ml;

      For deep-fried tofu

      • 16 oz extra-firm tofu block pressed and cut into cubes
      • ½ cup all-purpose flour
      • ½ cup corn starch
      • ½ tsp baking powder
      • ½ tsp salt
      • ¾ cup water adjust as required
      • 1.5 cups Oil or as required for frying

      For the kung pao sauce

      • 3 tbsp peanut oil
      • 10 dried red chilies
      • ½ tbsp black peppercorns
      • 3 cloves optional
      • ½ cup peanuts roasted
      • 6 green onions trimmed and chopped. Reserve the green part to garnish
      • 2 tbsp soy sauce
      • 2 tbsp vinegar
      • 2 tsp sugar
      • ½ tsp salt or to taste
      • 1 tbsp red chili sauce

      Instructions

      Deep-Fry Tofu:

      • Press the tofu in your preferred way, remove the excess water as much as possible, and cut them into cubes. Heat the oil for frying. In a mixing bowl, add the all-purpose flour, corn starch, salt, and baking powder. Mix well. Add water little by little and make the batter. It should not be too runny or too thick.
        the batter for tofu
      • Dip the tofu cubes in the prepared batter and slowly drop them into the hot oil. Deep fry them till they turn golden brown. Flip them as required while deep-frying.
        deep frying tofu
      • Fry them in batches, place the fried tofu on parchment paper or tissue paper and drain the excess oil. Set them aside.
        deep fried tofu

      Prepare the sauce and make kung pao tofu.

      • Heat a pan or wok. (As you can see, I am using my Dutch-oven here) Add the peanut oil and when the oil is hot, add the black peppercorns, cloves, and dried red chilies. Saute until the red chilies slightly bulge and change color. Add the roasted peanuts and cook for 30 seconds.
        roasting spices and peanuts
      • Now add the green onions and cook for a couple of minutes.
        adding the green onions
      • At this stage, add the sauces – soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce, sugar, and salt. Let the sauce simmer for a minute.
        adding the sauces
      • Now add the fried tofu and mix well. Make sure you coat the tofu well in the sauce and cook for a couple of minutes.
        adding tofu
      • Suppose you have any leftover batter that you used for deep-frying the tofu. In that case, you can use that to thicken the sauce, or you can mix 2 tbsp of corn starch with 2 tbsp of water and add it to the tofu mix to thicken it. You can skip this step entirely if you prefer slightly runny sauce.
        adding slurry
      • After adding the slurry, cook the tofu for a couple of minutes and turn off the heat. Garnish it with green onions and serve warm with rice or noodles.
        kung pao tofu ready to be served

      Notes

      • I highly recommend extra-frim tofu for this recipe. 
      • We did not include any ginger or garlic. But you can add finely chopped 2 cloves of garlic and 1-inch of ginger.
      • Adjust the salt and chili sauce/dried red chilies as per your taste. 
      • After adding green onions, you can add some veggies as well. 
      • I used store-bought roasted peanuts. If you are using raw peanuts, roast them first. 
      • Pressing the tofu – I don’t have a tofu presser. I just wrap the tofu in a towel and place a heavy object on top and let it sit for 30 to 40 minutes. You can check my homemade paneer post for the same. 
      • If you want to skip deep-frying and making this dish free of all-purpose flour, you can coat the tofu with corn starch and shallow-fry the tofu. 

      Nutrition

      Calories: 795kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 71g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 854mg | Potassium: 526mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 851IU | Vitamin C: 110mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 3mg

      I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

      Tried this recipe?Mention @vidhyasvegetariankitchen or tag #vidhyasvegkitchen
      For Video RecipesCheck out My YouTube Channel

      Update Notes: Earlier posted on 2015, updated with new pictures, recipe card in 2021.

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      Filed Under: Blogging Marathon, Chinese, International Tagged With: Blogging Marathon, Buffet On Table, Fried Tofu, Kung Pao Tofu with Jasmine Rice

      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. Free Recharge Tricks says

        October 26, 2015 at 10:54 pm

        Thanks for sharing. Looks awesome dish to try.

        Reply
      2. Sandhiya says

        September 30, 2015 at 2:07 am

        Lovely tradition on Mother’s day..Never cooked tofu so far, it seems easy to cook & delicious.

        Reply
      3. Pavani says

        September 11, 2015 at 5:19 pm

        What a spicy and delicious dish.Love your vegan version. I’m going to make it some time.

        Reply
        • Vidhya@VVK says

          September 12, 2015 at 1:43 pm

          Thanks Pavani. Do try it yaar

          Reply
      4. Suma Gandlur says

        September 07, 2015 at 8:42 pm

        Sounds like a great combo.

        Reply
        • Vidhya@VVK says

          September 07, 2015 at 9:17 pm

          Thanks Suma

          Reply
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