Kung Pao, that American-Chinese food classic with roots in Sichuan cuisine, gets a vegan makeover today. Wok fried tofu is doused in a flavorful, salty, tongue tingly sauce and tossed with handfuls of buttery roasted peanuts. Add in some broccoli florets because why make 2 stir fries when you can enjoy one! I love stir fries because they’re typically ready in just minutes. In a wok and over high heat, vegetables and proteins cook in almost no time. Things move so quickly that you want to have everything prepped–vegetables chopped, tofu cubed, sauce mixed together, etc–before starting. That way when the cooking starts you can focus on it. Kung pao is traditionally a dish made mostly of marinated chicken, hot chiles, Sichuan peppercorn (which have that tongue-tingly heat), and nuts (either peanuts or cashews). Tofu makes an easy swap for the protein. Tossed in corn starch the outside fries up nice and crisp, while the inside remains nice and soft. I’ve been on a big tofu kick lately, and love the combination of creamy tofu with flavorful, spicy sauces.
I tried to keep the sauce on the authentic side, at least from what I understand and what my research turned up. I used a combination of dark and light soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is a sweetened soy sauce, salty and syrupy, with a lot of umami flavor. Light soy sauce is thin and salty, and lightly seasoned. Together they add layers of flavor that are hard to achieve with the single Japanese style soy sauce we’re more accustomed to finding in the US. That being said, I suggest a tamari (or shoyu) substitution, if you’re unable to hunt down the Chinese soy sauces. Next we add some Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing rice wine), which you can substitute sherry or gin for, and toasted sesame oil. Then stir in some Sichuan peppercorn. I buy this whole and grind before use with a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder, depending on how much I’m grinding. Vegetable broth is next, and then corn starch. The broth and thins out and dilutes the sauce so it isn’t too strong and the starch thickens it to a flavorful gravy that can coat every last morsel. Traditional cooking would have you deep fry un-roasted nuts before adding the rest of the ingredients, but I like to keep things easy and toss in roasted nuts right at the end. I personally don’t miss the extra richness that deep fried nuts would bring.
The aromatics fry up in a matter of seconds, then we add the broccoli. While you more commonly see bell pepper in American Kung Pao, I like the added nutrition you get from broccoli. It’s also one of my favorite vegetables in stir fries, at it soaks up all that delicious sauce into the florets. I mean, yum. The broccoli cooks up to a vibrant green, barely tender with charred edges, in a couple of minutes, then we add in the tofu, peanuts, and the sauce. The sauce thickens over the heat in a minute or two, and at the very end add in the scallion greens. And there you have it! Easy, quick, and delicious vegan kung pao tofu. Once you have the sauces for the recipe, it becomes very pantry friendly. It’s work seeking out the specialty ingredients, as they will make your stir fries more authentic tasting, but if you don’t and instead use the suggest substitutions, the final dish is still excellent, if less authentic. I haven’t listed a substitute for Sichuan peppercorn because there really isn’t one. At least not one that dances across your tongue in the same manner. If you can’t find it and still want your Kung Pao, I would probably use white pepper in its stead. If you make this dish, leave a comment and rate the recipe below! And as always, don’t forget to tag your recreations @thecuriouschickpea and #thecuriouschickpea on Instagram! Like what you see? Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
Notes:
I have made this stir fry with cubed seitan and love it that way as well, skip the salt when tossing in corn starch. You can use just 8 oz of seitan, the dish will just be saucier at the end. If you like extra saucy stir fries, make 1.5-2x the sauce. You’ll need to eat it with extra rice to sop it up. The recipe calls for 4-6 dried chiles, which makes a nice medium heat (by my standards). You can always double that if you want a spicy meal, or use less for a mild dish. And whether or not you want to eat the chiles is up to you! They’ll add heat without overpowering if you don’t eat them and leave them whole.
*If you can’t find the dark and light chinese soy sauces substitute 3 tbsp of tamari or shoyu and add 1 tsp of brown sugar or coconut sugar. Adapted from Serious Eats
