If you had told me two years ago I would be posting a recipe about tofu I probably would have laughed until I caused some sort of internal injury. I grew up a mid-west meat and potatoes boy. I had crossed paths a time or two with tofu in the 80’s and 90’s and I was not a fan.
All of that changed a couple of years ago when I met a vegan chef by the name of Josh Sheets. At the time he was working for a company that managed dining services at our corporate offices. He made a point of offering vegan options that were just plain tasty. I had been told to eat less (aka no) meat for health reasons so I was open to trying some new things. One day he convinced me to try dish made with some crispy fried tofu. I was dubious, but also starving so I gave it a go. I was shocked. This was not the slimy goo I had tried before. This was crispy outside, firm inside and actually tasted pretty good.
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He moved on to start his own hot sauce company (Ol Dirty Sheets hot sauce is awesome), and now I actually find myself missing tofu at work. I borrowed his general concept to use use in this recipe which features crispy seasoned tofu, fresh veggies, and my own General Tso’s sauce (recipe here).
This recipe is featured in my stir fry 101 video below. It begins with a couple of great sauce recipes (including General Tso’s), and then ends with the tofu and veggie stir fry.
Tofu and Veggie Stir Fry
Save to BigOven Cripsy seasoned tofu, fresh veggies and a spicy sweet homemade General Tso’s sauce make this a delicious meat free meal.
- 16 oz Extra firm tofu, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
- 1/2 Cup cornstarch
- 1/2 Cup flour
- 1 Tbsp Chinese Five Spice (see notes if you don’t have this)
- 1 tsp ground red pepper
- 1 Cup broccoli florets
- 1 Red bell pepper, diced
- 1 Onion, diced
- In a large bowl or large plastic bag mix the the flour, cornstarch, five spice and red pepper
- Toss the tofu pieces in the seasoned flour and coat them thoroughly
- Remove tofu from flour mix and shake off any excess flour.
- Heat 1/3 cup Canola oil in a wok or high walled skillet on medium high heat.
- When the oil is hot add the tofu. Stir continuously while cooking, until the tofu is a medium brown and crispy outside. About 3 minutes.
- Add the broccoli florets. Stir continuously while cooking until you start to see some brown edges on the florets, about 2-3 minutes
- Add the onions and peppers. Stir continuously until the onion starts to become translucent, about 2-3 minutes
- Add the General Tso’s sauce and stir well to coat the veggies and tofu. Remove from heat and serve with rice.
1) If you don’t have 1 Tbsp Chinese five spice powder, substitute 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp nutmeg. 2) Feel free to change up the veggies based on your preference. Sometimes I add mushrooms, carrots, bok choy, etc. 3) The nutritional info assumes you will consume all of the flour/cornstarch mixture so these numbers are inflated for carbs.
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