Oh so savory.

Since today's a no meat day for me, I want to share a recipe that features tofu, my go-to protein source and all around favorite food. I love cooking and eating tofu because it just soaks up a lot of flavor and you can pretty much cook it any way: fried, steamed, sauteed; the list goes on. It also pairs well with a lot of different sauces, whether it be creamy curries or sticky Asian glazes. 

If you're looking for a new way to spice up the ever reliable tofu, I have a recipe for you! I have here Kung Pao Tofu. It's sweet, savory, and spicy and has a very dominant Chinese flavor. I personally love this with rice since it's saucy and savory. The bell peppers and the peanuts add a whole lot of crunch which makes this dish more enjoyable. It's very easy to do too, perfect for people like me who doesn't really know what they're doing in the kitchen 80% of the time. Ha!

Kung Pao Tofu

(adapted from LovingItVegan.com)

Yield: 1-2 servings

around 225 - 250 g Firm Tofu

1 tbsp oil of choice, for frying

Sauce: 

1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar

2 tsp soy sauce*

1 1/2 tsp hoisin sauce

2 tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp cornstarch

Other ingredients:

1 1/2 tsp Sesame Oil

3/4 tsp (about 3 cloves) crushed garlic

3/4 tsp minced fresh ginger

1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced into strips

1/2 - 1 tsp  chopped chives

1/8 cup salted peanuts

big pinch of crushed chili flakes

splash of water

1. "Press" or squeeze out as much water as you can from the tofu beforehand. Cut into about 1" cubes.

2. In a separate bowl, mix sauce ingredients.

3. In a pan, heat up oil and fry tofu cubes until they're golden brown. Set aside.

4. In the same pan where you fried the tofu (either remove excess oil or wipe it off), add the sesame oil and saute the garlic followed by the ginger until fragrant. Add in bell peppers and peanuts and let cook for about a minute or so. Don't overcook the bell peppers.

5. Add in sauce mixture and adjust according to taste. If the sauce looks too thick, add water to loosen it up. Add in crushed chili flakes.

6. Remove sauce from heat and add in fried tofu cubes, coating each cube with the sauce.

7. Serve with regular rice or cauliflower rice.

NOTES

1. *The soy sauce I used in this recipe is an HVP soy sauce. If you're using something like tamari or liquid aminos, you might have to add more. Also, since HVP soy sauce is real salty, you might want to do a half-half mix instead. So if the recipe calls for 2 tsp soy sauce, do 1 tsp HVP soy sauce + 1 tsp water instead to lessen the saltiness a bit.

2. You can always use non-salted peanuts with this. You can even use cashews instead of peanuts.

3. If you don't have chili flakes, you can use the dried whole ones, about 2-3 of them. You have to saute it with the ginger and garlic first, though.

4.The original recipe calls for spring onions. I just used chives because they were available and also for variety.

5. Adjust the taste to what you like. I prefer mine to be a little on the sweeter side which is why I amped up the maple syrup.