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Vegan Kung Pao Tofu

April 14, 2017 43 Comments

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Kung Pao Tofu is a vegan version developed from Kung Pao Chicken which gets the same popularity with Mapo tofu in worldwide. And surely it is a dish I make from time to time.

Tofu is always considered as a good replacement for meat in many Chinese dishes. And it is the best partner of lots of Szechuan style stir fire sauce like kung pao sauce 宫保汁(gōng)(bǎo)(zhī) and fish flavor sauce (鱼香汁).

Kung Pao Tofu |chinasichuanfood.com

For all vegan readers: Kung pao sauce is great for almost all chunky vegetables. Besides this kung pao tofu, you still have other options like Kung pao mushroom, Kung pao cauliflower and Kung pao Lotus root.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound firm tofu or extra firm tofu
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable cooking oil
  • 1 green pepper, cut into small pieces
  • 1 red pepper sliced
  • 3 to 5 dried red chili pepper (I use whole pieces to reduce the hotness)
  • 1/8 teaspoon whole Sichuan peppercorn
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 inch root ginger sliced
  • 2 leek scallions, cut the white part into small sections
  • 1 tbsp. roasted peanuts
Stir-fry Sauce:
  • ½ tablespoon dark soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • a small pinch of salt (around 1 teaspoon)
  • 1 inch ginger grated
  • 1 tablespoon chopped green onion
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 2 teaspoon sugar

Cut tofu into 2cm dices, add oil and then fry the tofu pieces over medium fire until golden on one side.

Kung Pao Tofu |chinasichuanfood.com

Then turn over and make them golden brown on four sides.

Kung Pao Tofu |chinasichuanfood.com

In your wok, hot oil and fry dried red pepper and Sichuan peppercorn until aroma. Place garlic, ginger and half of the leek onion sections and keep frying over slow fire for half a minute.

Kung Pao Tofu |chinasichuanfood.com

Place tofu and pepper pieces in.

Kung Pao Tofu |chinasichuanfood.com

Slightly stir the kung pao sauce so there is no starch sticking to the bottom. Pour in the sauce and give everything a big stir fry to make every piece well-coated. Ad toasted peanuts and the remaining leek onion sections. Mix well and serve immediately.

Kung Pao Tofu |chinasichuanfood.com

My favorite way for serving those kung pao tofu is steamed rice. But it can be served with noodles or steamed buns too.

Kung Pao Tofu |chinasichuanfood.com

5 from 6 votes
Kung Pao Tofu |chinasichuanfood.com
Print
Vegan Kung Pao Tofu
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 
This is a vegan kung pao tofu recipe developed based on kung pao chicken.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Sichuan cuisine
Keyword: Kung Pao, tofu
Servings: 2
Calories: 513 kcal
Author: Elaine
Ingredients
  • 1 pound firm tofu or extra firm tofu
  • 3 tbsp. vegetable cooking oil
  • 1 green pepper , cut into small pieces
  • 1 red pepper sliced
  • 1/8 tsp. Sichuan peppercorn
  • 3 to 5 dried red chili pepper , I use whole pieces to reduce the hotness
  • 2 garlic cloves , minced
  • 1 inch root ginger sliced
  • 2 leek scallions , cut the white part into small sections
  • 1 tbsp. peanuts
Stir-fry Sauce:
  • ½ tbsp. dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp. a small pinch of salt
  • 1 inch ginger grated
  • 1 tbsp. chopped green onion
  • 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp. cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp. vinegar
  • 2 tbsp. water
  • 2 tsp. sugar
Instructions
  1. Cut the firm tofu into cubes around 2 cm. And then drain to remove the water on the surface.
  2. Cut red pepper and green pepper into small pieces.
  3. In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients for stir-fry sauce.
  4. Heat up 3 tablespoons of peanut oil in wok. And get the cubes in to stir-fry until tofu becomes gold-brown in surface. Move the tofu cubes out and pour the extra oil out of the wok, left around 1 tablespoon of oil in.
  5. Fry dried chili pepper and Sichuan peppercorn until aroma and then place ginger, garlic and half of leek onion in to stir-fry over slow fire until fragrant; return tofu cubes in along with pepper pieces.
  6. Slightly stir the kung pao sauce and pour in. Give everything a give stir fry until the tofu cubes are well coated. Add toasted peanuts and the remaining leek onion sections. Mix well and serve with steamed rice or noodles.
Recipe Notes

This recipe is firstly published in 2013 and then re-written with new photos in April, 2017.

Nutrition Facts
Vegan Kung Pao Tofu
Amount Per Serving
Calories 513 Calories from Fat 324
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 36g 55%
Saturated Fat 19g 95%
Sodium 1602mg 67%
Potassium 162mg 5%
Total Carbohydrates 26g 9%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Sugars 7g
Protein 24g 48%
Vitamin A 15.7%
Vitamin C 11.9%
Calcium 31.5%
Iron 19.1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Kung Pao Tofu |chinasichuanfood.com

Filed Under: Featured, Recipes, Sichuan Food, tofu, Vegan

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Comments

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  1. Megan says

    February 5, 2014 at 1:40 pm

    This looks great! Thanks for sharing! I’ll have to try this recipe. 🙂

    Reply
    • Elaine Luo says

      February 5, 2014 at 9:03 pm

      Thanks Megan for stopping by and hope you enjoy this tofu recipe.

      Reply
  2. Liz says

    February 7, 2014 at 5:07 pm

    This looks way too good! Tofu has to be one of my favorite foods

    Reply
    • Elaine Luo says

      February 7, 2014 at 8:27 pm

      Liz,
      Thanks for stopping by. Tofu is excellent for me too since it is easy to cook and so yummy. Enjoy!

      Reply
  3. David says

    February 18, 2014 at 8:01 am

    Hi Elaine,
    Thanks for sharing this vegan dish. As I’m vegetarian, I rely on tofu a lot. I will try that one soon!
    David

    Reply
    • Elaine Luo says

      February 18, 2014 at 9:53 pm

      David,
      Nice to see you again. I am non-vegan but I eat lots of vegan dishes too. So I would love to share those healthy vegan or vegetarian ideas with you. Have a try and good luck.

      Reply
  4. L says

    March 18, 2014 at 12:45 pm

    Chicken stock..??vegan

    Reply
    • Elaine Luo says

      March 18, 2014 at 7:59 pm

      Hi Lon,
      Thanks for commenting and I am sorry for the misunderstanding.
      I am non-vegan so sometimes not so strict with the ingredients. I have list that you can use water to replace the stock. I hope you are ok with that option.

      Reply
  5. recipes indian says

    September 24, 2014 at 11:05 pm

    Pretty! This was a really wonderful post. Thanks for supplying this
    info.

    Reply
  6. Robert Otto says

    January 2, 2015 at 5:47 pm

    Is a Glove of garlic the same as a clove?

    Reply
    • Elaine Luo says

      January 5, 2015 at 1:40 am

      Sorry Robert,
      That’s a mis-typing. It should be garlic clove.

      Reply
    • Copelia says

      October 22, 2015 at 10:47 pm

      Well well glove Clove doesn’t need a genius to work that one out!!!!

      Reply
  7. David Spilkia says

    November 16, 2016 at 1:09 am

    I was looking at the photo of the tofu being fried. That looks like a lot more than 3 tablespoons of oil.

    Reply
  8. Alicia rose says

    December 2, 2016 at 4:47 pm

    Lovely and easy recipe! Loved that it didnt have too many ingredients and was straight forward! I made two servings of the sauce because it was immaculate! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      December 3, 2016 at 7:33 pm

      Hi, Alicia rose
      Thanks for your kind comments. I’m happy that you have tried this recipes. Enjoying!

      Reply
  9. Gayle Fox says

    December 18, 2016 at 9:40 pm

    What a beautiful recipe and I plan on trying it tonite. Can you help me by explaining what is Black Vinegar? Is this something I can find her in US? Maybe known as something different? Thank you so much,

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      December 19, 2016 at 1:26 pm

      Hi Gayle,
      Chinese black vinegar is a very common Chinese ingredients. You can know more from https://chinasichuanfood.com/chinese-sauces/.

      Reply
  10. Savita says

    January 31, 2017 at 2:17 am

    Hi…I just tried this tofu dish and it tasted delicious..thanks for sharing the recipe.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      January 31, 2017 at 10:26 pm

      Hi,Savita
      Thanks for your feedback. I’m so happy you have tried it successfully.

      Reply
  11. NotBuyingIt! says

    April 6, 2017 at 11:29 pm

    Wow! I love this recipe! So beautiful in the pictures too! I will try it tonight and use vegetable stock 🙂 Thank you for this recipe! 🙂

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      April 7, 2017 at 8:13 am

      Thanks, hope you success and share your result with me.

      Reply
  12. Jessica says

    April 20, 2017 at 2:12 pm

    Hi,great blog you have! i found these recipes you posted were easy to learn:) i’m wondering if you need some gadgets to help your cooking. look for your reply.thanks

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      April 21, 2017 at 8:00 am

      Hi Jessica,
      Thanks for your kindness. I am a kitchen tool lover and I have lots of gadgets already in my kitchen cabinet.

      Reply
  13. Paul says

    April 26, 2017 at 3:51 am

    Thanks. Sechuan peppercorns were not in the ingredient list. I didn’t see them mentioned until I started cooking. Would have been helpful before I went shopping.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      April 26, 2017 at 8:17 am

      Sorry Paul. I miss the Sichuan peppercorn in ingredient list. Recipe is already updated.

      Reply
  14. chris 06 says

    April 29, 2017 at 9:15 pm

    Belle recette de tofu,et c’est bon Merci et un beau panier de bisous

    Reply
  15. Mackenzie says

    December 22, 2017 at 2:02 am

    Hi Elaine,

    how much peanuts does this dish need? I can’t find it listed in the ingredients

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      January 3, 2018 at 9:29 am

      You can use 1 to 2 tablespoons of peanuts.

      Reply
  16. denimmini says

    February 21, 2018 at 8:47 pm

    Recipe sounds wonderful! Can’t wait to try it! Trying to round up the ingredients… What would you recommend as a substitute for Chinese Black Vinegar?

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      February 28, 2018 at 8:32 pm

      I still recommend purchasing yourself a bottle of Chinese black vinegar if you really love to cook Chinese dishes. Just for convenience, you can use balsamic vinegar as a substitute.

      Reply
  17. BadgeryFox says

    July 17, 2018 at 3:19 am


    This was excellent! Thank you for this new variation in my day to day cooking. I tried many variations already, this sauce goes so well with vegetables,meat and tofu, it’s amazing. One of my new favourites with how easy it”s to make this and ingredients already at home anyways. I never thought of it. Thank you so much!
    Love this blog a lot, it gave me many new recipes that I now love to make!

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      July 17, 2018 at 9:33 pm

      Thanks for the great feedback. Kung Pao dishes are one of my favorite series. Happy cooking! I hope to get more good news from you.

      Reply
  18. Freddy says

    August 13, 2018 at 11:11 pm


    Thank you Elaine! I made this last night and it was absolutely wonderful! I have now made 30 of your recipes and every single one is just great. Kung pao tofu is one of my favourites. I have a question for you – I always bring my lunch to work (we don’t have many cheap and healthy options in Scotland), do you have any suggestions for recipes for packed lunch? Thanks again! 🙂

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      August 16, 2018 at 8:44 pm

      Thanks Freddy. I am so horned to read this comment.
      If you want to bring them for lunch, most of the pork stir fries can be packaged. And other dishes including shredded potato, braised beef with potatoes and pan-fried crispy beef are also great options.

      Reply
      • Freddy says

        August 21, 2018 at 12:09 am

        Thank you Elaine, you’re the best!

        Reply
  19. Grace says

    January 16, 2019 at 7:36 pm


    Wow this was so good! Thank you for sharing your recipe. I visited Chengdu a few years ago and I still have dreams about how tasty Sichuan cusine is omgggggg. Thank you I will keep on making this

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      January 17, 2019 at 7:46 pm

      Thank you for the kind feedback. Happy cooking.

      Reply
  20. CTO Sundar says

    March 18, 2019 at 8:16 am


    This is very good. Couple of questions, do you coat the tofu in corn starch before you pan fry them also, when do you add the peanuts.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      March 19, 2019 at 8:42 am

      No,
      I do not coat the tofu with cornstarch for this one. I fry them directly. But if you prefer, you can coat the tofu with a layer of cornstarch for sure. Peanuts are added after the sauce is well thickened. I add it in the very last minutes to keep the crispy texture.

      Reply
  21. Neal Buer says

    March 30, 2019 at 3:29 am


    I don’t follow recipes, but after looking at 7 or 8 recipes, I chose this one. We just returned from a month in Asia, and really enjoyed the food, so we wanted to continue eating Asian food. Since I don’t eat meat or chicken, I choose tofu. A lot of recipes have a complicated method of making tofi taste like meat. This recipe has a very simple process that works. If you want it more spicy, you will need to break up one or two of the red peppers.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      April 1, 2019 at 7:38 pm

      Thanks Neal. This is such a great feedback. Yes, for a even hotter version, breaking red peppers is quite effective.

      Reply
  22. Lily says

    December 11, 2019 at 2:44 am


    This was so delicious, i made some adjustments and doubled the sauce but skipped the salt. I think it’s perfect! Many thanks for this recipe.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      December 11, 2019 at 9:27 am

      Thanks for the feedback, Lily. Glad to know it turns out well for you.

      Reply

Hi, Welcome!

Please not be limited by site name, as Elaine shares Chinese recipes beyond Sichuan dishes. Know me more from About Page

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