Kung pao tofu
Crispy tofu, crunchy peanuts and peppers in a tangy, glossy sauce with a slow chili kick, ready in about the time it takes the rice to cook.
- 50 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $3.22 a serving
- 990 calories
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 package extra-firm tofu, drained
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
- ⅓ cup peanuts
- 3 stalks green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
From your pantry
- 1¾ cups water, divided
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 tsp cornstarch, divided
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
Each serving has about 990 calories, 40 g protein, 108 g carbs and 46 g fat, and costs about $3.22 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No extra-firm tofu? Firm tofu works.
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No red bell peppers? Yellow bell peppers work.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Wrap the tofu in a clean towel and press it under something heavy for 15 minutes.
Timer: 15 min
Dolly’s tip: The less water in the tofu, the crunchier it fries.Meanwhile, the rice and bring it in a small with 1½ cups water and the salt over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Stir once, cover, and cook on low for 15 minutes. Take it off the heat and leave the lid on.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, hoisin, ¼ cup water and 1 teaspoon cornstarch in a small bowl.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Cut the tofu into ¾-inch and them with the remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch.
Cube. Cubing means cutting food into chunky, even squares, usually three quarters of an inch to an inch. Same-size cubes cook at the same speed and brown on every side.
How you’ll know: Your pieces look like a handful of sugar cubes, a little bigger than diced, all close to the same size.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick over medium-high heat until it .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Medium-high heat
Fry the tofu, turning every few minutes, until and , about 10 minutes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Medium-high heatTimer: 10 min
Food safety: Tofu is safe to eat straight from the package; cooking is only for texture and flavor.
Move it to a plate.
Add the last tablespoon of oil, the pepper and celery, and over high heat 2 to 3 minutes, until bright and still crunchy.
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
High heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
to medium, add the garlic, ginger and pepper flakes, and stir 30 seconds, .
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heat
Dolly’s tip: Pepper flakes scorch fast in a hot pan, which is why the heat comes down first.Return the tofu, add the peanuts and green onions, then stir the sauce and pour it in. about 1 minute, until everything is glossy.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Spoon over the rice and serve right away, while the tofu is still crisp.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Garlic ginger tofu and broccoli stir-fry
55 min
General Tso’s tofu
55 min
Tempeh and broccoli stir-fry
45 min
Air fryer orange tofu
45 min
High-protein dinners ›Vegetarian dinners ›What to make with rice and bell peppers ›What to make with rice and tofu ›