Spice up your dinner with this easy, delicious Kung Pao Tofu Recipe that is ready in just under 30 minutes. Bold spicy flavors, and crunchy textures of the peanuts and bell peppers, with a lip-smacking delicious sauce. This is the stir-fry you need on a busy weeknight.
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What is Kung Pao Tofu
Kung Pao Tofu is a spicy vegan stir fry with crispy tofu , crunchy peanuts and bell peppers and a delicious sauce. It's origin is from the Sichuan province in southeastern China.
We love Asian flavors and textures so this is often on our weekday menu, simply because it's super easy to make, its always a hit and is ready in under 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Ingredients are shown in the image below. You can find the measurements in the recipe card.
How to make Kung Pao Tofu
- Press the Tofu and remove the extra moisture.
- Prepare the Sauce -While the Tofu is being pressed, in a bowl, mix the soy sauce, hoisin, rice vinegar, water and cornstarch. Whisk the ingredients together making sure there are no lumps and keep aside.
- Chop the other ingredients - finely chop the spring onions, ginger and garlic. Cut the bell peppers and tofu into 3/4 inch cubes.
- Crisp the Tofu - In a bowl, add the tofu cubes and sprinkle the corn starch . Coat the cubes with cornstarch by gently tossing them in the bowl. You can either shallow fry the tofu or follow our Air Fry Tofu recipe if you don't want to fry. In a wok, heat some oil and once hot, throw in the tofu cubes and crisp them evenly on all sides. Keep aside.
- Stir Fry - In the same wok add the oil, and cook the aromatics for a minutes - green onions, ginger, garlic and chilies. Next throw in the diced bell peppers and cook the peppers for a minute or two making sure the bell peppers don't loose their crunch. Throw in the tofu. Then whisk the sauce one final time before pouring it into the wok. Add the sauce and gently coat the bell peppers and tofu in the sauce. Cook the sauce until it thickens. Lastly throw in the roasted peanuts and mix well.
- Garnish with green onions and cilantro.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
| Common Mistake | Result | How to fix it |
| Not pressing the tofu enough to drain the moisture. | Tofu is not crispy | Atleast press the tofu for 15 minutes before cutting it. |
| Skip the cornstarch coating | Tofu is not crisp enough | This is an important step for crispy tofu texture. So coat the tofu with cornstach. |
| Over cooking peppers | Mushy peppers | You just want crisp peppers , so do not cook them beyond a couple minutes |
| Adding too much water | Sauce is runny | Add water gradually istead of all at once. |
| Not adding the right amount of water | Sauce is too thick | Follow the proportion mentioned in the recipe |
Serving Suggestions
Honestly, I am such a fan of this stir fry, I enjoy it as it. I don't like to dilute the flavors.
However, for a weekday meal I often pair it with jasmine rice.
Hosting a crowd, pair it with Orange Cauliflower, or Gobi Manchurian, Hakka Noodles and Indo Chinese Vegetable Fried Rice.
Storage - How to Store
It's best consumed hot just after its made. I do not recommend storing it, as the sauce will thicken.
However if you have left over, I store it in an air tight container. I reheat it in a wok and add some water for the sauce to loosen up.
More Reccomendations
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Easy Delicious Kung Pao Tofu Under 30 Minutes
Spice up your dinner with this easy, delicious Kung Pao Tofu Recipe that is ready in just under 30 minutes. Bold spicy flavors, and crunchy textures of the peanuts and bell peppers, with a lip-smacking delicious sauce. This is the stir-fry you need on a busy weeknight.
Ingredients
- 14 oz. Extra Firm Tofu, pressed and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
- 3 tablespoon oil / cooking spray if air frying tofu
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan pepper corn or 3-4 Thai green chilies silt
- 3 dried while red chilies
- 2 green onions, chopped; white and green part separated
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 inch fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 3/4 inch
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into 3/4 inch
- 1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
For the Sauce
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon hoisin
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon corn starch
Instructions
Press the Tofu and remove the extra moisture.
Prepare the Sauce -While the Tofu is being pressed, in a bowl, mix the soy sauce, hoisin, rice vinegar, water and 2 tablespoon cornstarch. Whisk the ingredients together making sure there are no lumps and keep aside.
Chop the other ingredients - finely chop the spring onions, ginger and garlic. Cut the bell peppers and tofu into 3/4 inch cubes.
Crisp the Tofu - In a bowl, add the tofu cubes and sprinkle 2 tablespoon corn starch . Coat the cubes with cornstarch by gently tossing them in the bowl. You can either shallow fry the tofu or follow our Air Fry Tofu recipe if you don't want to fry. In a wok, heat some oil and once hot, throw in the tofu cubes and crisp them evenly on all sides. Keep aside.
Stir Fry - In the same wok add the oil, and cook the aromatics for a minutes - green onions, ginger, garlic and chilies. Next throw in the diced bell peppers and cook the peppers for a minute or two making sure the bell peppers don't loose their crunch. Throw in the tofu. Then whisk the sauce one final time before pouring it into the wok. Add the sauce and gently coat the bell peppers and tofu in the sauce. Cook the sauce until it thickens. Lastly throw in the roasted peanuts and mix well.
Garnish with green onions and cilantro.
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