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.
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:
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.
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.
- 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.
- Fry them in batches, place the fried tofu on parchment paper or tissue paper and drain the excess oil. Set them aside.
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.
- Now add the green onions and cook for a couple of minutes.
- At this stage, add the sauces – soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce, sugar, and salt. Let the sauce simmer for a minute.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
More Tofu Recipes
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
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.
- 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.
- Fry them in batches, place the fried tofu on parchment paper or tissue paper and drain the excess oil. Set them aside.
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.
- Now add the green onions and cook for a couple of minutes.
- At this stage, add the sauces – soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce, sugar, and salt. Let the sauce simmer for a minute.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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
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.
Update Notes: Earlier posted on 2015, updated with new pictures, recipe card in 2021.
Thanks for sharing. Looks awesome dish to try.
Lovely tradition on Mother’s day..Never cooked tofu so far, it seems easy to cook & delicious.
What a spicy and delicious dish.Love your vegan version. I’m going to make it some time.
Thanks Pavani. Do try it yaar
Sounds like a great combo.
Thanks Suma