General Tso’s Tofu features crispy caramelized tofu bites with tender broccoli rabe in a tangy savory sweet sticky sauce. Learn how to make extra crispy tofu with the minimum oil and time without deep frying, plus the best General Tso sauce! {Vegan, Gluten-free}
In Chinese cooking, there are so many delicious ways to make rich tasting plant-based dishes using tofu, such as this General Tso’s Tofu. With just an extra marinating step, you can make delicious tofu bites that are extra crunchy and crispy with a caramelized texture. The sauce is tangy, savory and sweet, and works extremely well with the crispy tofu and the slightly bitter tasting broccoli rabe.
How to cook crispy tofu without deep frying
The secret to making the best general tso’s tofu is the marinating process.
- Cut tofu into 1/2” (1 cm) pieces and transfer them to a gallon-size ziploc bag.
- Marinate the tofu with soy sauce and maple syrup. The combo helps to char the tofu and give it a beautiful caramelized taste.
- Drain all the liquid. Add cornstarch into the bag and shake to coat. The cornstarch is the key to an extra crispy crust.
- Shallow fry the tofu in a large pan.
That’s it!
You don’t need to worry about the tofu breaking apart as long as you’re using extra firm tofu and handle the bag gently. Even if the tofu breaks up a little during cooking, you will still get super flavorful and crispy pieces.
General Tso’s Tofu ingredients
How to cut the broccoli rabe for stir fry
If your broccoli rabe is quite large and long: take off 3” to 4” (8 to 10 cm) of florets (the stems that have flowers on top). Take off the bigger leaves from the stem, then chop the stems into small pieces.
For small broccoli rabe batches: you can simply take off 3” to 4” (8 to 10 cm) of florets (the stems that have flowers on top). And keep the rest intact, or halve the stems.
Prep work
When doing your prep work, always group the ingredients according to the cooking steps to minimize the number of plates on your table. Plus, you can add the ingredients more easily and avoid missing any ingredients.
When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:
- Sliced broccoli rabe
- Chopped aromatics and spices (green onion, ginger, garlic, and dried chili pepper)
- Mixed sauce
- Marinated tofu
Other vegetable alternatives
You can always use regular broccoli instead of broccoli rabe.
Though there are other options as well:
- Swiss chard: chop the stems into small pieces and the leaves into bite-size pieces
- Kale: take off the leaves and chop them into small bite-sized pieces. If using the stem, slice it as thinly as possible.
- Spinach: use baby spinach directly, or halve the larger spinach leaves.
- Brococlini: take off the top florets and chop the stems into small pieces.
Because the general tso’s sauce is quite rich and sweet, it pairs very well with a slightly bitter vegetable.
Note:
You will have to par-cook the broccoli and broccolini before making the general tso’s tofu stir fry (I’ve included the method in the recipe below). But if you’re using other vegetables listed above, you can add them directly into the pan.
What pan to use
If you’re not very experienced in cooking with tofu, I highly recommend using a large nonstick skillet. Because (1) you can easily fry the tofu with less oil (2) the tofu will not stick to the pan and then fall apart when you stir it.
When I made the dish, I used my 12” Debuyer carbon steel pan since it’s my go-to pan for making any stir fry. However the tofu stuck easily and fell apart a little. Plus, since the sauce has vinegar in it, it slightly erodes the seasoning of the pan.
I do NOT recommend using a stainless steel pan. The tofu has a lot of starch and syrup and will get stuck too easily.
How to cook General Tso’s Tofu
- Spread the marinated tofu in a big pan
- Cook without moving until both sides turn golden brown, then transfer to a plate
- Saute the aromatics
- Add the broccoli rabe and cook until wilted
- Add back the cooked tofu and add the sauce
- Stir until the sauce is thickened and evenly coat the ingredients
How to serve General Tso’s Tofu
I highly recommend serving general tso’s tofu with steamed rice. The crispy crunchy tofu bites and saucy vegetables pair so well with a hot bowl of rice. Start your rice before making the stir fry, and you will have a colorful and delicious meal in no time!
Other delicious plant-based recipes
- Real Deal Sesame Noodles
- Vegetarian Mapo Tofu
- Black Pepper Tofu
- Chinese Sauteed Cabbage with Vinegar Sauce (醋溜卷心菜)
- Tofu Lettuce Wraps
General Tso’s Tofu (Better Than Takeout)
Ingredients
Tofu
- 1 block (16 oz / 450 g) extra firm tofu
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (or other syrup, or sugar)
Sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Stir fry
- 6 tablespoons cornstarch (or enough to coat the tofu)
- 3 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 batch broccoli rabe (or 1 big head broccoli) , cut into bite size pieces (yields about 4 cups once cut)
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 4 green onions , roughly chopped
- 2 dried Chinese chili peppers (Optional)
Instructions
For the tofu
- Pat tofu dry with paper towels. Cut into 1/2” (1 cm) pieces and transfer into a large ziploc bag. Add soy sauce and maple syrup. Gently flip the bag a few times to coat tofu with the liquid. Marinate for 10 to 15 minutes while preparing other ingredients.
For the sauce
- Mix all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. If you’re using pre-made General Tso’s Sauce, shake the sauce to make the cornstarch dissolve completely, then pour 1/3 cup of the sauce into a bowl, add 1/3 cup of stock, and mix well.
To cook the stir fry
- Once the tofu is marinated, open the bag just a little bit without letting the tofu fall out. Drain and discard all the liquid. Add the cornstarch, a tablespoon at a time, then gently toss the bag to coat the tofu. It is OK if the tofu doesn’t get coated evenly.
- If using broccoli, add 1/4 cup water to a large pan and heat over medium-high heat until simmering. Add the broccoli. Cook covered for 1 minute, or until al dente. Transfer the broccoli to a plate. Wipe the pan clean with paper towels.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil into the pan. Add the tofu with your hand: shake off the extra cornstarch and lay it into the pan without overlapping. Let cook without moving for 2 minutes, or until the bottom turns golden. Flip to brown the other side, 2 minutes or so. If the pan gets too hot, turn to medium or medium-low heat. You can keep browning the other sides of the tofu if you prefer. Transfer the cooked tofu to a plate and set it aside.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, ginger, garlic, green onion, and dried red chilies (if using). Stir a few times to release the fragrance.
- If using broccoli rabe, add it to the pan. Cook and stir until wilted. If using broccoli, add the cooked broccoli back into the pan.
- Stir the sauce again to dissolve the cornstarch completely. Pour it into the pan. Cook and stir until the sauce thickens and coats all the ingredients.
- Add the tofu back into the pan. Gently toss it to coat it with the sauce. Transfer everything to a large serving plate.
- Serve hot as a main dish.
Notes
- To make the dish gluten-free, use tamari to replace the soy sauce, dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine, and balsamic vinegar to replace Chinkiang vinegar.
Turned out great! Question: Maggie, now that you’ve discovered using the air fryer to cook tofu, will you be publishing an air fryer version for Home Style Tofu? Or can we just do the same prep but cook the tofu in the air fryer instead of the frying pan? Same treatment with cornstarch? Oil the tofu? Thanks! (Great site!)
This was fantastic. Tasted like the local Chinese food place.
So good! It wasn’t too difficult and turned out excellent. I used just a little more oil for frying but that was the only change. I have saved the recipe.