Kung Pao Style Tofu and Vegetables

 

 Kung Pao Style Tofu and Vegetables

By Namit Kathoria

 

Preparation time: 15-20 min

Cooking time: 20-25 min

Serves 4-5 people

 

Ingredients:

600g tofu drained and cubed

Main Sauce

2 tablespoons tamari sauce

2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons arrowroot powder

 

Kung Pao Sauce

½ cup vegetable stock

2 tablespoons tamari sauce

2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar

1 inch ginger grated

3 garlic cloves grated

2 teaspoons maple syrup

2 teaspoons arrowroot powder

 

Vegetables

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 red pepper diced

1 green pepper diced

1 carrot diced

1-5 chillies finely chopped (depending on the amount of spice you want)

1 aubergine diced

2 large spring onions chopped

⅓ cup peanuts

 

Preparation:

1. Mix together the ingredients for the main sauce in a large bowl. Then add in the drained and diced tofu and mix with the sauce. Leave to marinade for 10-15 minutes whilst you are preparing the rest of the dish.
2. Mix up the ingredients for the Kung Pao sauce and set those aside.
3. Warm up one tablespoon of the olive oil on a medium to high heat in a large wok and put in one piece of tofu. Wait for it to sizzle then add in all the rest of the tofu cubes and the rest of the marinade. Cook for 6-7 minutes until the tofu cubes are crispy on at least two sides, then set aside on a plate.
4. Warm up one more tablespoon of the olive oil in the same wok again on a medium to high heat and cook the aubergine for around 5-6 minutes.
5. Add in the red and green peppers, the carrot, the chillies and the spring onions with the final tablespoon of olive oil. Cook for 5-6 minutes constantly stirring until the vegetables start to become crunchy and the aubergine has become soft.
6. Add in the Kung Pao sauce, increase the heat to high and wait for it to start to boil. Once it is boiling, lower the temperature, allow it to simmer and cook for about 4 minutes until it becomes nice and thick.
7. Add the tofu back in, cook for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally so that all the cubes are coated.
8. Stir in the peanuts and switch off the heat.
9. Serve with brown jasmine rice and garnish with either raw or toasted sesame seeds.

 

Did you know?

The origin of the sauce for this dish come from Sichuan province in China and it is actually named after the title of a governer in the late Qing dynasty who made the dish famous. The governer was called Ding Baozhen and his title was one of Gongbao (Kung Pao) or palace guardian.

 

We have changed the original recipe around a little bit to make it plant based and healthier. So for example instead of corn starch we use arrowroot powder.

 

Where does your protein come from?

It comes from the tofu which is a complete protein.

 

To get more inspiration for healthy plant-based recipes please see our new nutrition and recipe book “Life” which is due to come out in 2022.