I’m a proud carnivore but every once in a while I bring home a tub of tofu and make something relatively ‘healthy’ with it.
To date, “Mapo Tofu” is my favourite way of eating this soy product, though cubes of tofu added to miso or hot and sour soup are tasty as well.
NOTE: Baking is a healthier option in making this dish, than the one I chose, which was to shallow fry the sliced tofu planks in 1/2 inch of oil until browned on both sides, and then draining the fried tofu on paper towels.
General Tso’s Tofu over Rice
I’m including the healthier baking version of this recipe below.
Baked General Tso’s Tofu – serves 3
3 cups water with 2 tsp salt, boiling
12 oz block of firm or extra firm tofu
2 tsp oil, divided
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp Sriracha (rooster) sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp corn starch dissolved in 2 tbsp water
1-2 tsp toasted sesame seeds and/or 2 sliced green onions, optional garnishes
Cooked white or brown rice, to serve
Prepping the tofu:
Drain the tofu and cut into 3/4 inch thick slices.
Lay the slices of tofu in a glass baking dish and pour the boiling salted water over the tofu. Let the tofu soak for 15 minutes. Drain, lay tofu on several sheets of paper towelling and cover with several more. Press gently to dry tofu as much as possible.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grease a cookie sheet with 1 tsp of your oil.
Arrange the tofu pieces on the cookie sheet and place in the oven for 15 minutes.
Mise en place for General Tso’s Tofu
While the tofu is cooking, combine brown sugar, hoisin sauce, sriracha, soy sauce and rice vinegar in one small bowl.
In another small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water.
Mince or grate ginger and garlic and set aside.
When tofu has cooked for 15 minutes, flip the tofu and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, warm 1 tsp of oil in a non-stick saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is warm, add ginger and garlic to the pan and cook for a minute or so. If the ginger and garlic sticks to the bottom of the pan, don’t be concerned.
Add the 1/4 cup water and as the water simmers, use a spatula to release the ginger and garlic from the bottom of the pan. Keep scraping until all of the ginger and garlic comes off of the bottom of the pan.
Add the brown sugar, hoisin sauce, sriracha, soy sauce and rice vinegar mixture. Bring to a simmer, then turn down to low until tofu is ready. Once the tofu is ready, add the corn starch mixture to the sauce and increase the heat to medium. Stir constantly until the sauce thickens and darkens.
Toss the tofu in the sauce to coat and serve over rice.
Tofu in Sauce
Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and/or sliced green onion.
Tofu Miso Noodle Soup – seaweed, rice noodles, Sriracha sauce and green onion along with the fried tofu cubes
Cooking is Fun ... Really!! 
You have reminded me I have been meaning to make General Tso Chicken for ages… I have a very good Chinese cookery book I have never used, only read.
Your tofu looks really good, in both dishes! I also like mapo tofu a lot. Maybe I’ll do it this weekend…
I wanted to make the chicken version as well but when I picked up the tofu … well, I switched over to that instead. I don’t know that I’d make it again but the sauce was a good find.
Really liked this recipe. Its fairly simple and doesn’t make a big mess. Never bothered with the soup, I just had the tofu over my own seasoned basmati rice.
If you like it spicy however, I strongly recommend adding 1/8 – 1/4 tsp of cayenne powder and adding a tablespoon of chili garlic sauce, a teaspoon of chili flakes and a teaspoon of chili ginger and / or tripling the siracha. Add a little bit extra vinegar when you add extra heat and it’ll be closer to a restaurant style spicy general tsos tofu.
If you don’t like it too spicy stick to the original recipe, but spice lovers beware, you’re gonna wanna turn up the heat on this one.