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General Tso Tofu over rice close up

General Tso’s Tofu (Better Than Takeout)

4.91 from 11 votes
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}
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: takeout
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Maggie Zhu

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

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

  1. 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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 344kcal, Carbohydrates: 42.4g, Protein: 13.3g, Fat: 15.3g, Saturated Fat: 2.7g, Sodium: 903mg, Potassium: 569mg, Fiber: 4.2g, Sugar: 20.4g, Calcium: 295mg, Iron: 3mg