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.
Love this theme, awesome combo’s coming up and i m loving his meal too!!! First i like that name, has punch na!! he he!!! We love Kung fu panda, :) jokes apart, delicious & flavorful combo
Thanks.. I too love Kung Fu Panda
Kung pao tofu and jasmine rice, both looks fabulous and definitely a satisfying meal, would love to finish that plate of kung pao tofu..
:-) :-) Thanks a lot
Hey Vidhya the kung pao tofu is delicious and so also the sticky rice.Will love to dig in.
:-) you are always welcome to dig in.
Well well !! Don’t u wish all days were Mother’s Day ;-)) great start to the mega BM !
oh yeah absolutely ;-) ;-)
That is an awesome combo , I love CHinese and must try this version, looks interesting. Btw I have the same mats as your Mother’s Day pic :)
So sweet of your hubby to cook for you.
Oh is it.. I think I got it from bed bath and beyond or Target. Thanks a lot
Nice reading about the Mother’s Day tradition.And Kungpao Chicken is such a famous dish there and your dish with tofu looks so close to the original one! The platter look so inviting Vidhya….
Thanks PJ.. :-)
I am drooling over this dish, class combo.
:-) :-) Thanks Sneha
Nice knowing about the tradition..and that’s a wonderful start for the Mega BM…
Thanks a lot Valli :-)
This looks like a delicious combo. I love tofu and will try this dish some time.
Thanks Gayathri and sure let me know when you try it.
delicious combo!! should have tasted awesome
Yeah Sowmya.. Thanks
what a lovely Mother’s Day tradition. great recipe too!
:-) Thanks Chef
Nice combo that plate of food looks so invited…
Thanks Padma
Superbly made. I make this often and My husband loves this.
Oh wow.. great dish na? Thanks Harini..
lovely combination Vidhya…this looks very inviting
Thanks Pradnya
When I saw the themes for this BM, even I was not very enthusiastic but as I started working on it, it was not that bad at all. Nice Chinese combo and tofu is a good substitute for vegetarians. Yum!!
Agree with you Usha. I kept on changing the recipes and you know what still I need to work for my 3rd week ;-) ;-) Thanks
I like to “vegetrianise” all non-veggie dishes too. I am going to love this one. :-)
Yup. Me too. Same pinch. Try this one Aruna. You will love it.
Wow awesome combo .I am thinking of the taste.Good starting…
Thanks Sapana.
Excellent work,Vidya…You are so active and I should learn lots from you….
Awww.. thanks a lot for this wonderful words.. I dunno when I will get into passive mode.. ;-) ;-)
I would like to take part in the blogging marathon too, but this is a crazy month :( Is this a monthly challenge? I can definitely join in next month.
Hi GB, These marathons are announced well ahead. The april and sep ones are mega marathons where we post all days except sundays. Whereas other months we post only 3 days in a row for a month. Everything is theme based and the themes are sent a month ahead and you need to sign up on or before the 8th for next month. Here is the details, themes and rules for Oct month. http://spicingyourlife.blogspot.com/2015/08/blogging-marathon-57-3-day-marathon-for.html
Hope this helps
Gosh.. too many rules Sri.. I am totally confused reading the rules only and seems super strict. May be I will take it up some other time. Since I am posting every day anyways, thought of joining but not my cup of tea really. Thanks a lot for the info though :)
No problem. Yeah initially I thought the same too. I joined this group last August and it took me sometime to get used too. But I like it becoz of these themes. Till 2014 I was not that active in blogging. The BMs helped me to get back into my active mode.It helps me to learn new and try new things from the traditional ones. But again its your personal choice. Really great going with posting daily.
This is yummm! :)
Thanks GB