Vegan General Tso’s Tofu Recipe
Hi guys!
2019, I’m really seriously trying to eat better and healthier, and I know I’m not the only one.
So I’m so so happy to bring you another healthy, easy & vegan dish!
Vegan General Tso’s tofu!
Do you know the best part of this recipe?
The tofu is oil-free and air-fried!
You can use any air fryer you have, mine happens to be Philips! I love the design, the size (Mine is XL), and the quality!
Only the downfall is the sound… it’s louder than other air fryers, to be honest with you.
But! I’ve been enjoying using it, and I’m very happy with all the food results so far!
Preheat the air fryer over 380°F – 390°F
I mean, you can deep fry the tofu, but… air fryer makes me feel a bit better. 😉
Drain tofu and wrap with some paper towel and place a salt container or anything that weights on top of the tofu. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
Cut the tofu into 2-inch long rectangles and season with salt and pepper.
Place tofu into the preheated air fryer and cook them for 15 mins or until golden brown all around. Shake and turn them around halfway through.
Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, vinegar, sugar, samba, vegetable stock, and cornstarch in a mixing bowl and set aside.
In a cold pan, add chili oil, dried chilis, garlic, and ginger. Turn on the heat to medium-high and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until you smell the aroma. Keep stirring to prevent burnt garlic.
Mix the sauce mixture one more time (because cornstarch will sink to the bottom) and pour it into the pan. Stir immediately. Cook the sauce for 1 to 2 minutes or until the thickness you desire.
By now, the tofu probably has done cooking!
Add the air-fried tofu and toss evenly. Cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes, so tofu has some time to soak up the flavor of the sauce.
Remove from the heat and garnish with sesame seeds if you like. Serve with some warm cooked rice and steamed veggies if you want it to be a meal or it can be an amazing appetizer as it is!
Enjoy!
Vegan General Tso’s Tofu
- Total Time: 18 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
Description
Ingredients
For the Tofu
- 1 block of medium-firm to firm tofu
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
For The Sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
- 3 tbsp apple vinegar (you can use any vinegar you have!)
- 2 tbsp raw sugar
- 1 to 3 tsp sambal (adjust to your taste)
- 1/3 cup vegetable stock
- 1 tsp cornstarch
For Stir-fry
- 1 tbsp Lao gan ma, chili oil with chili flakes (purchase or make a homemade one!)
- 3 to 5 dried Thai chilis
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tsp chopped ginger
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 380°F – 390°F
Drain tofu from the package and wrap with paper towels then place a salt container or anything that has a weight on top of the tofu. Let it sit for 5 minutes. - Cut the tofu into cubes and season with salt and pepper. Place tofu into the preheated air fryer and cook them for 15 mins or until golden brown all around. Shake and turn them around halfway through.
- Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, vinegar, sugar, sambal, vegetable stock, and cornstarch in a mixing bowl and set aside.
- In a cold pan, add chili oil, dried chilis, garlic, and chopped ginger. Turn on the heat to medium-high and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until you smell the aroma. Keep stirring to prevent burnt garlic.
- Mix the sauce mixture one more time (because the cornstarch will sink down to the bottom) and pour it into the pan. Stir immediately. Cook the sauce for 1 to 2 minutes or until the thickness you desire.
- Add the air-fried tofu and toss evenly. Cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes, so tofu has some time to soak up the flavor of the sauce. Remove from the heat and garnish with sesame seeds as you like. Serve with some warm cooked rice and steamed veggies if you want it to be a meal or it can be an amazing appetizer as it is! Enjoy!
- Cook Time: 18 mins
16 comments
So easy and so delicious. Definitely was the perfect way to break in my air fryer. Enjoying this for lunch right now!
Seonkyoung,
My family loves your videos!!! 👏Everything you make looks so delicious, but I especially like this recipe since I don’t eat meat. (I do eat seafood, eggs, etc. so you have loads of good recipes for me). My husband and adult son, love all your meat recipes so we always make two versions and I modify mine batch with tofu or shrimp or whatever.
Thank you for sharing your amazing culinary skills with us. I love to watch you cook, and you have inspired us to try cooking more Asian food at home….YOU MAKE IT EASY & FUN!!!! 😁😁😁 We love your wacky sense of humor, too. Please keep your awesome videos coming. Thank you!!! 😘
Just made this and it was delicious! I usually cut tofu in cubes when I use them in saucy recipes like this, but I loved the rectangles lol.
I also appreciate the nutritional value you calculated. Thank you again!
Thanks for the recipe! I am a Korean and I always wanted to share my heritage with my vegetarian boyfriend. Your veg Asian/Korean recipes are very helpful including this one!
Im glad you guys enjoyed it!
Can I use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock?
Yes you can I will taste just as good, just understand it will no longer be a vegan dish.
I just made this and it is good I made the cucumber and shallots salad and I eat the whole dish..
Can I use normal white sugar?
I dont know where to find raw suger a.t.m.
Yes, that should be fine, but keep it mind, the only reason I used raw sugar for this recipe was to make it completely vegan, and normal white sugar is not vegan.
thank you for your reply.
I cannot see it on the site, but I read the mail.
In the Netherlands it is forbidden to use animal products with sugar extraction 🙂
So im good here! Not that im vegan, but for other dutch people who read this 🙂
Is there any other cooking method you could do that’s similar to the air fryer because I don’t have one.
This recipe is my new favorite!
This is delicious! I baked the tofu as I don’t have an air fryer and wanted it healthy and replaced the veg stock with water. I am already planning to make it again! Thank you!
So glad I could help out!
Such an easy recipe! I bake the tofu in the oven and use apple cider vinegar.