This is one of those comfort food dishes that you make when a serious takeout craving hits, but you still want to cook at home to save a few calories and dollars.
My General Tso’s tofu is the perfect balance of spicy, sweet, and savory. It is loaded with protein (20+ grams per serving!) and comes together in just 30 minutes!
This recipe is a reader request – thanks Marshette!
Much like Singapore Noodles, I had never actually tried General Tso’s stir fry before. But from what I hear, it’s traditionally lightly battered and fried chicken tossed with a savory-sweet sauce, and cooked with green onion and dried red chilies for heat.
I think I can get on board with that.
To keep my version plant-based, I went with tofu. If you’ve followed this blog for long, you’ve probably seen my favorite way to make tofu taste good.
Well, even though I still love that method, I may love this new method even more (one I adapted from The Kitchn)!
Simply marinate the tofu in a bit of soy sauce, maple syrup, and chili garlic sauce before dredging in cornstarch and pan-frying in a little oil. The result is a flavorful tofu that’s crispy on the outside, tender (not mushy) on the inside, and comes together in about 20 minutes!
This dish gets some serious heat from dried red chilies, which you can find in most traditional and Asian grocery stores. However, if you have trouble locating some, either use fresh red chilies or extra chili garlic sauce.
Whatever you do, don’t skip the heat! That’s what makes this dish balanced and delicious.
I think you guys are going to LOVE this fake-out takeout dish. It’s:
Extremely flavorful
Perfectly spiced
Not too sweet
Satisfying
Comforting
Quick
& Dang delicious
This would make the perfect entrée to make when you’re craving takeout but want to stay in and make it a little healthier! Don’t get me wrong – I wouldn’t call this “health food.” But it is much lighter than what you’ll find at restaurants. Plus, 20 grams protein per serving!
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #minimalistbaker on Instagram. We’d love to see what you come up with. Cheers, friends!
- 3-4 cups (474-632 g) cooked white or brown rice
- Steamed broccoli
- 12 ounces (340 g) extra-firm tofu
- 3 Tbsp (45 ml) tamari or soy sauce (tamari for gluten-free eaters)
- 1 tsp chili garlic sauce
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp (15 ml) maple syrup
- 4-5 Tbsp (28-35 g) cornstarch
- 2 Tbsp (30 ml) neutral oil (such as grape seed or canola)
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced (~1 heaping Tbsp or 7 g)
- 1 Tbsp (6 g) ginger, minced
- 1 Tbsp (15 ml) rice vinegar (or sub white vinegar)
- 1/4 cup (48 g) coconut sugar or maple syrup, plus more to taste (I used 2 Tbsp coconut sugar, 2 Tbsp maple syrup)
- 3 Tbsp (45 ml) tamari or soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
- 1 Tbsp (15 ml) water
- 1 Tbsp (15 ml) sesame oil
- 1 bundle green onions, bulbs removed, roughly chopped
- 4-7 dried red chilies (optional for heat, or sub 1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce | more or less to taste)
- optional: Sesame seeds, for garnish
- If serving with rice and broccoli, begin preparing at this time. Otherwise, move onto the next step.
- Wrap tofu in a clean, absorbent towel and set something heavy on top to wick away moisture, such as a cast iron skillet. Let rest for about 10 minutes.
- Prep/chop green onions, garlic, and ginger at this time. Set aside.
- While tofu is pressing, prepare sauce by combining sesame oil, cornstarch, minced garlic, minced ginger, rice vinegar, coconut sugar or maple syrup, tamari or soy sauce, and water in a small mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly to combine. If using coconut sugar, make sure it’s dissolved before proceeding. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed (I left mine as is).
- Heat a large metal or cast iron skillet (mine is 10”) over medium heat. In the meantime, unwrap tofu and cut into even pieces, about 3/4-inch cubes (see photo).
- Add tofu to a shallow mixing bowl (see photo) and top with tamari or soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil, and maple syrup. Toss to combine. Let rest 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Use a slotted spoon or fork to transfer tofu to a quart-size or large freezer bag. Add cornstarch 1 Tbsp at a time and toss to coat. Continue adding more cornstarch and tossing until tofu is coated in a gummy, white layer - about 5 Tbsp.
- To the hot skillet, add 2 Tbsp grape seed oil and let warm for 30 seconds. Then use a slotted spoon or fork to add tofu to the pan (leaving any excess cornstarch behind).
- Cook on all sides for 1 minute, or until light golden brown. You don’t want it blackened or burned, as you’ll be cooking it again later with the sauce. Aim for a consistent golden brown crust (see photo). Remove tofu from pan as it’s finished browning. Set aside.
- Return skillet to burner and increase heat to medium-high. Add 1 Tbsp sesame oil, chopped green onions, and dried red chilies. Sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the sauce and tofu. Cook, stirring frequently, to coat the tofu and vegetables for 1-2 minutes, or until warmed through and the sauce has slightly thickened (see photo).
- Remove pan from heat and add sesame seeds (optional). Toss to coat.
- Serve with rice and steamed broccoli (optional), or other desired sides. Best when fresh, though leftovers keep for 2-3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat on the stovetop or microwave.
* Nutrition information is a rough estimate for 1 of 2 servings without additional sides, such as rice or broccoli.
Looks delicious, Dana. I have never tried stir frying tofu before. I will have to give it a try sometime! :)
This looks lovely! Now I can’t decide between fried tofu or the recipe that uses deep-fried portobello mushrooms. I might actually combine the two!
Now that is an excellent idea! I love how mushrooms beef up my meal without beefing me up. I’ll leave that too the chocolate and ice cream.
I am so glad I read this comment. I was thinking maybe I could try this with cauliflower, but the mushrooms might just be the perfect replacement.
I just had breakfast, I want to eat again. I had tofu for dinner last night, I may have it again tonight. This looks so crazy delicious!
I CANNOT WAIT TO TRY THIS! General Tso’s Tofu is just about my favorite thing.
Seems easy enough but I don’t usually carry fresh ginger, would this work with powdered ginger?
I haven’t tried it that way, but yes, I think that would work!
Use almost half the amount dried ginger is concentrated in flavor
I used 1/4 tsp of ground ginger.
This recipe looks amazing! I was wondering if I bought pressed tofu would I still have to press it again? Can’t wait to try it (:
I’ve never heard of pre-pressed tofu! Just make sure it isn’t sopping wet – if it has any excess moisture, just wrap it in a clean towel as instructed.
OMG – yum! I haven’t had General Tso’s in more than seven years… since I went gluten free. Thank you!!!!
Oh boy!! I love the sound of that sauce!!
Well that was handy. I’m making stir fry for dinner tonight and now I can amp it up a bit with this! Thanks!
YUM! This looks so so so so so so good!!!!!
This sounds amazing! What brand of chili garlic sauce do you use?
This brand!
I’ve been wanting to make this at home for ages! Can’t wait to try this!
Yum! I love stirfried tofu of any kind so this is my kind of meal. Great idea to put cornstarch on the tofu for some crispiness!
Just finished making this for dinner–it’s incredible. The tofu is SO unlike a lot of tofu I’ve had before. Cooking it this way makes it have a really nice “meaty” kinda texture, not the mushy texture many think of when you say tofu.
I cannot wait to make this for my carnivorous boyfriend!
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Amber! xoxo
Thanks Dana for the request. My mouth is watering as I am looking at the beautiful pictures. I am on my way to the store to get the ingredients. This is perfect for the Superbowl. You’re awesome. Thanks again.
Looks SO good, I miss tofu so much now I can’t eat soya, but I can live vicariously through your beautiful photos! :)
I’ve finally converted my boyfriend to the tofu train and I think this is the next thing we need to try!
Hi and thanks for sharing! I did notice the fat and Na content in the food. I suspect the fat comes from the oil but is there a way to reduce the Na? I’ve even noticed the low sodium soy sauce is still relatively high? also, I’m hearing concerns about needing to be cautious with the ‘over consumption’ of soy/tofu for vegans and vegetarians? Do you have an opinion on this? Thank you and appreaciate all the GREAT receipes.
“You’ll be cooking it again later with the sauce.” A huge lightbulb just went on over my head. A lightbulb the size of of a pan with tofu all stuck to it. NO MORE!
Love general Tso but not all the bad stuff that comes with takeout. Thanks for sharing!
Just made this tonight- it was amazing. I doubled the amount of sauce and made a veggie stir fry (carrot, broccolini, yellow bell pepper) with the tofu, green onions, and dried chilis.
Incredible, will definitely make it again! And we’ll definitely use the cornstarch trick with tofu in other recipes in the future.
Awesome although bit tricky with the cornstarch in the sauce & it is the toss for the pressed, marinated tofu.
If you’re into documentaries, there’s a great one on Netflix about the origin of General Tsao’s chicken. I think it was called Searching for General Tsao.
This was amazing, as usual;) My hubby and kiddo also both loved it. Will make it again soon but will double the sauce next time:)
This was great! I love your recipes. I quickly stir fried broccoli and mushrooms and added them to the Tofu and sauce at the end. Next time I’ll increase the amount of sauce if I make it this way but it was tasty. It is truly one of my favorite tofu recipes.
Wow! Just made it for the first time. So. Freaking. Good!!!!! Will be making this a lot.
I tried making this recipe yesterday for lunch and it came out great. So great, we had it again for dinner tonight! You really nailed this recipe:) My husband said he felt like we were eating out at a restaurant. Never thought I could cook yummy Asian style food until now- thank you for this amazing recipe!! Hope you’ll come out with a szechuan tofu recipe sometime in the future:)
Just made this for dinner tonight, and, boy, is it delish, especially the sauce! One tip for success with the tofu. I tried flipping with a silicone spatula at first, and the tofu was all staying stuck to the bottom. I went back and scraped it all up with a metal spatula and had better luck after that.
This was excellent! I am not really a tofu person (I could never, say, eat a block of grilled tofu…just, no) but I had tofu left over from making miso soup and conveniently had the rest of the ingredients. I was so pleasantly surprised with the results of the stir fried tofu! I made quite a few changes to the rest; I added chili garlic sauce to the sauce base instead of the chilis and used a combo of thin green beans, bell pepper, shiitake mushrooms and green onion for the vegetables. SO GOOD.
Hey Dana!
I’ve made this recipe for a family dinner and it was everything it promised to be: sweet savory deliciousness. My family, who are meat eaters, finished the whole thing and asked me to make more!
It’s a pleasure making them fall in love with vegan dishes thanks to your recipes :)
This is UNREAL tasty. I had it with brown rice and steamed veggies. It will be a frequent dish I know already! So tasty.
I had a box of tofu and broccolli so it was made to be! I made this tonight. Did not have any sesame oil but I still think it came out good! I did press the tofu longer (about an hour and a half) then let it dry out a little. I did not marinate it with the soy sauce, and I think this did make it harder for the cornstarch to stick because the tofu was pretty dry. So putting a little sauce on the tofu before coating may definitely help!
Loved the sauce, it thickened up beautifully and quickly.
I am quickly working through all of your recipes, and all of them are five stars! Tonight we made this, and it was awesome but I just can’t ever get the hang of pan-frying tofu. It never seems to work for me–it always sticks. Do you think it would work to just pop the marinated squares of tofu in the oven to bake it before adding it to the sauce?
I didn’t think you could outdo your Crispy Peanut Tofu recipe, but this is unbelievably good. Will be making this on a regular basis.
My only complaint is that both my husband and I thought the ginger flavor was too strong. Will use less next time.
Also, I threw some cashews into the pan at the end and loved the crunchiness they added.
This is the 2nd recipe of yours I’ve now made (the first being scrambled tofu) and both were absolutely delicious! My kids *loved* this. The only change i made to this (and the scrambled tofu) is that I doubled the sauce. Will definitely be making again, and Im excited to try more of your recipes! Thank you!!
This might be a silly question but are you supposed to eat the dried chilies whole? Or are they more to add spiciness to the dish and to be discarded once on the plate? This looks delicious and exactly up my ally. Can’t wait to try it out!
This looks so fresh and delicious! I can never get my tofu to look that crispy!!
This turned out really well – flavour was excellent! I liked how the tofu was saucy enough that when you added the plain, steamed broccoli it picked up the sauce as well. I need to perfect my art of frying the tofu though – I don’t think they were quite crispy enough though that’s my bad! I didn’t want to burn it. Overall an 5 stars and will be adding this to my list of favourite vegan recipes. Thanks!
My husband and I made this for meatless Monday and Chinese New Year and I have to tell you it was spectacular. I’ve never cooked tofu before even though I’ll eat it at restaurants and my husband was very nervous about this dish and was prepared to dislike it. 2 servings later and he is a convert! The sauce was perfectly sticky and sweet and spicy. Loved it!!
This is a definite winner! I cubed both tofu and a Portobello mushroom and served with brown rice and steamed broccoli. Absolutely LOVED it! Thanks Dana!
The stir fry sauce was excellent. We tossed in brussel sprouts and broccoli – no extra sauce needed. Meat-eating friends were very impressed with the texture and flavor of the tofu. Thank you for sharing and Gung Hay Fat Choy!
Definitely going to try this
This is so delicious!! I am so happy to have found a way to crisp up tofu so nicely. I will definitely be making this again very soon. Telling all my friends and family about this gem!
Wow! I used a 15oz block of tofu, doubled the sauce, and used extra garlic-chili sauce instead of the dried chilies. Absolutely Wonderful.
TASTY TASTY ..AWESOME RECIPE!!! JUST LIKE RESTAURANT QUALITY BUT MAKE IT YOURSELF FRESH & CONTROL INGREDIENTS. THANKS FOR EXCEPTIONAL RECIPE. I PLAN TO USE THIS WITH SHRIMP AND CHICKEN FOR THE NON VEGAN COMPANY FAMILY AND MYSELF SINCE IM BOTH. LOVE IT. TASTY TASTY
I ALSO PLAN TO DO THIS WITH EGGPLANT SINCE THATS MY FAVORITE DISH AT PANDA AND THEY NEVER HAVE IT LATELY….NOW I CAN DO IT MYSELF. THANKS SO MUCH. YEAH.
This recipe is the BOMB. I’m always drooling over the various stir-fries at asian eateries because of their sauces, but I can’t eat the darn meat-laden things! Everything about this dish was flavorful and filling. I had to make substitutions for what I had on hand but I think I did justice even in the improvisation (sambal and minced garlic instead of the chili garlic sauce). Instead of the veggies you listed above, I stir-fried yellow onion, orange bell pepper and an anaheim pepper. So satisfying. Thank you for taking the time to veganize such recipes even when, like myself, you’ve never had the chance to eat the real deal.
Taste good. But mine didn’t look as good as yours
I was trying to pick 5 stars but it wouldn’t take
This is a great recipe! My husband loves Chinese food , but I never want to order take-out due to quality concerns (not many reputable places in our area). He really liked this recipe and said he would choose this over take-out any day. Woo hoo!
Never tried coating tofu like this before, but I will say that cooking this sucked a LOT, and was totally not worth all the effort. Also, this takes more like 60 minutes, considering all the steps involved.
As soon as I added the sauce after sautéing the green onion and adding the tofu, it *instantly* turned into a gummy residue and mostly coated the spatula I was using – maybe I can add more water to the sauce to give it more time to reduce. This would probably be better with a dead animal of some sort for more character and flavour.
Amazing! Made this tonight and loved it, thank you! Will make again.
This was great! Very easy. I even made half the batch for me and the other half when my husband got home from work.
I substituted dried red pepper flakes because I didn’t have the whole dried chiles. That worked well. A shake or two added enough spice.
Made this for myself and let my meat loving family try it and they actually really like it!! I never thought I could get them to like tofu haha. This recipie is great and tastes really good. While it does take awhile to make, I thought it was completely worth the effort.
I’m salivating
Thanks so much. We have no good Chinese restaurants over here in Bend OR. This was outstanding! I have to give the other half away so I don’t eat it all tonight! I think baking the tofu would work perfectly. The oil content worries me but sometimes there’s just no substitute for frying to get the right kind of crisp. I did happen to use tofu that had been frozen then thawed. It makes a big difference in the firmness of the tofu…
This turned out AWESOME. I never thought I (or my boyfriend!) would like tofu so much. I didn’t have chili garlic sauce or dried red chilies so I subbed in some chili paste I had on hand for both ingredients. I also added the cut up tofu directly to a freezer bag then added the wet ingredients to soak in, mixing the bag occasionally. I did use probably 1-2 T. more of cornstarch when that was added in though. This is definitely a new favorite in our kitchen!
I am soooooo not a tofu fan but this recipe made it taste so yummy. Thanks for the recipe.
This was delicious. I made it Saturday. The only change I made was to include green beans, but otherwise I made it exactly as written and it was amazing!
SO MUCH YUM!
Made this for dinner twice this week. I had to show it off. I added some mushrooms and greens to the tofu to jam in a little more veg. And that sauce IS AMAZE. Thanks for the recipe!
Looks great I can’t wait to try this one; I love adding tofu into my dishes to avoid eating meat.
When you posted this recipe, I wasn’t in the mood for spicy food, so I made the original tofu recipe that you linked to. Well, it was so amazing (that firm consistency! that crispy exterior!) that I had to try this one next. And oh my god, this totally hit the spot. It’s the perfect balance of spicy and sweet and garlicky. Better than Chinese takeout! And I feel good about eating it!
Wow, this recipe looks fantastic!! Can not wait to try it.
Thanks Dana! I can have General Tso again! I love the way the tofu cooks up in this recipe. I’ll be using this technique to try out some other stir-fry dishes.
I made this tonight! I omitted the hot peppers, as I have a six-year-old. I did add some water to the pan when I added the sauce and the tofu as it turned really thick instantly but it turned out delicious. Both of my kids loved it and sadly there will be no leftovers…This will be in our regular rotation for sure.
Thank you, Dana! You have taken my crispy tofu skills to a whole new level! Delicious and easy – just like everything else you post.
Just made this with my wife and it was delicious. However, the 36.6g of sugar and 2774mg of sodium per serving make it super unhealthy from a sugar/sodium perspective. The 2774mg of sodium is, in a single meal, more than the entire day’s recommended maximum of 2300mg. Yikes!
And sugar is best kept to 5% of total calories, which would be about 25g per day– 36.6g puts a person well over that in a single meal. Double yikes!
Super tasty? Yes. Something to eat more often than once in a blue moon? Sadly, definitely not.
It’s definitely not health food, but it’s healthier than takeout! Glad you enjoyed it, Brooke ;D
We definitely did! Going to try cutting the maple syrup and soy sauce in half next time and see if it still holds some good flavor. My wife and I use your recipes almost every day– they are always amazing, and your food photographs are incredible. We plan to pre-order your cookbook for ourselves and my mom. So happy that your partnership with Penguin means the book will reach far and wide:)
I just made this, and I have to say it is absolutely amazing! I added some snow peas in while sautéing the green onions for some extra crunch. Will be making this recipe over and over it is that good!
Those recipe was amazing! Will be making again!
I’m in love with this recipe! I added the broccoli after I sauteed the onions with the chilies. I also added bok choy. It was absolutely delicious! I did the unhealthy thing and had it with sticky thai rice but I plan to have the rest with brown basmati rice!
I love your recipes!
I made this last night and it was truly amazing! I love to cook and try new recipes and I also have a 14 year old that would prefer to not eat meat. Tofu was very foreign to me until recently. I have been scouring the web for tofu recipes and came across this one. This was honestly the best textured tofu I have cooked yet! I used potato starch as opposed to cornstarch because a lot of the asian styled recipes I cook call for it and I have been very happy with the silky texture it gives sauces. The only other modification I made was to double the sauce because it was THAT good!! This will definitely make it into the regular rotation. Thank you soon much.
OMG! I just fell in love with food! Is that normal? LOL!
Thank you so much for this recipe! ♥
Omg I made this the other night and it was SO GOOD! I omitted the chilis because I’m a wimp when it comes to spicy things, but it still turned out amazing. Finally I know how to cook tofu in a way that makes it delicious :)
This recipe was amazing! Simple to prepare, yet the flavors were so complex and delicious. And I loved the texture of the tofu. One of the best stir-fries!
This was seriously delish…I made it less spicy so my 7-year-old could enjoy (she did)….I’m sure I would love the spicier way too! I find frying the tofu on all sides definitely makes this a bit more time consuming than some recipes, but it is definitely worth the effort! I marinated the tofu about 30 mins instead of just a few, and instead of tossing the marinade afterwards, I used it as a sauce for the steamed broccoli- which was an excellent choice as it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe :)
Omg! This was so amazing! I dreamt about the night after I had it for lunch. And ate the leftovers for breakfast the next day! Been making your recipes nonstop for about 2 weeks (and tagging you on Instagram)! Mmm, mmm, good!
That sauce looks so glossy and thick and gorgeous! And who can argue with a meal that high in protein?
Planning on making this tonight! But, I don’t have any coconut or maple sugar in hand. Can I sub regular white sugar? Is so, should I use a bit less?
This is incredibly delicious!! I used chili flakes instead of dried red chilies because I have toddlers to feed and it still turned out great. I love your recipes!
This was absolutely delicious! I couldn’t find extra firm tofu so I just used firm. Also if one cant find fresh ginger 1/2 tbs of ground ginger worked for the recipe. i am adding this to my list of recipes that I rotate.
I made this last night for guests, everyone loved it! I left out the chili peppers and just made the tofu….delicious!
This was the first recipe I’d ever tried to make tofu, and OMG so good!!! After that I bought 2 more packages of tofu. I will definitely be making this recipe again.
Just made this dish and it was sooooooo good and easy to make. Typically I use the powdered ginger, not fresh but this time I had my husband by the fresh ginger and it took the dish to another whole level. The combination of the freshly grated ginger and the other Asian spices really made this dish top notch. My kids wanted seconds but sadly I only used one container of tofu. Next time two. Thank you Dana!!!!!
This was phenomenal! You’re a amazing, and you’ve made my recent transition to vegetarianism so much easier, and delicious!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Xoxo
This was EXCELLENT! I was very encouraged by all of the positive reviews and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Though I am a vegetarian and my husband is not, he really enjoyed this recipe and told me “it’s a keeper” (tofu and all)! Will definitely be making this again, though hoping to find a way to make it healthier! THANKS for the great recipe!
So amazing! Made this dish earlier in the week and it was such a hit my boyfriend asked that I please defer my choice of dish this evening for a repeat General Tso’s. We adapted a whole foods plant based lifestyle in January and I for one couldn’t have done it without all your recipes…thank you so very much!!!
I just made it and it tastes great! A bit too sticky for my liking, so next time I’ll add a little less cornstarch. But the flavor is exceptional! I’ll be making this again and again! :)
Hi, I’m new to your blog and stumbled upon this recipe for General Tso tofu by googling how to prepare the dish at home. I made it exactly as directed and my husband, a friend, and myself had it for dinner. It was tasty however, I feel the recipe could be simplified to take less time and still have the same results. For starters, why steam the broccoli in a separate step? Broccoli does take longer to cook than other veggies, but by adding the fresh chopped florets and stem chunks (which are also good as long as the tough outer layer is cut away) into the pan just after the oil has gotten hot enough to release the aroma from the chilies and before adding the other veggies, this allows it to cook enough that it turns out tender-crisp which is the goal in stir-fry style. A hint: after rinsing the broccoli, don’t shake out all the water- the water that clings to it will help steam it in the wok or whatever pan you’re using. Also add some of the stir fry liquid and give it a good toss so that everything’s coated and constantly moving so nothing starts sticking but instead getting cooked quickly as it comes in contact with the hot oil and steam. Stir-fry technique was developed as a way to cook food quickly in order to conserve more expensive things like cooking oil and fuel, and if done properly does not use much oil at all. If I make this again, I will also omit the separate sauce marinade for the tofu and use the same sauce for the stir-fry. Thanks for the recipe, it was a good base from which to make one’s own personal mods.
Mmmmmmmmm I just took my first bites!! It’s really good!!! I was looking up recipes for tofu because I bought some tofu at the oriental market awhile ago and wanted to use it, so the tofu I used was already spiced. Actually I used two different kinds, one was more firm in the package and called “dry and flavored,” the other was a little softer and also flavored or spiced. So I was hoping they would turn out okay and they are really yummy!! For me, it doesn’t really taste like the classic general tso’s but it doesn’t matter because it’s really good! Kind of greasy but I also made it at 7 in the morning haha.
Also this took me well over a hour to make. I’m sure the speedy organized people could get it done in a hour, but if you’ve never made anything like this before, I recommend giving yourself well over a hour to prepare this meal.
I also didn’t use vinegar in my sauce because I thought I had some but don’t! (Which needs to change ;)) And I skipped using the chili peppers to save money and just added extra chili garli sauce to my tofu. Also used garlic salt, probably would have been better with fresh or powder (but I was being cheap) and powdered ginger, which seemed fine.
I’d like to try this again with regular good ol’ no flavored and such tofu. It sure doesn’t seem like the healthiest thing especially when you throw that tofu in the pan (I used cast iron which worked really well) and you hear the oil (I used canaola) sizzling and popping (beware of little baby burns!)
But definitely a yummy treat!!
I’m taking mine to work and sharing it as lunch!
Thanks for the recipe! :)
Can’t wait to try the baking tofu process you talked about earlier!
This was fantastic!! We used homemade chickpea tofu that we keep frozen in pieces. We don’t eat corn and didn’t know if arrowroot would work so we left the tofu plain.
We took note of the other comments and we only made the sauce under the Sauce heading and cut back the sugar in it from 1/4 cup to 2 tbsp. We left off the sauce under the Tofu heading completely. After dipping the tofu in we used the leftover sauce on the veggies. We also just used 1 tsp of coconut oil with the veggies and 1 tsp of coconut oil to cook the tofu. For us, this meal was definitely health food all the way.
Added some snow peas and haricot verts to the pan with the green onions. Had a big side of steamed broccoli too. Thanks so much!!
This was my first time cooking tofu and it turned out AMAZING! This recipe was better than I could have ever imagined! 5 stars all the way!
We had some of our vegan friends over for dinner (my fiance and I are both omnivores) and both they/we loved it! Thanks for the awesome recipe.
This was great.
Was really good !!
Prep time 15min is a lie.
A friend asked me to make this recipe for her, and I did this evening. It is DELICIOUS! Even her picky I-don’t-like-tofu granddaughter enjoyed it. Since I made extra, I brought some home for my husband and have to make again, soon, for him. He said it’s better than take out, and I agree!
Fantastic! Easy prep with delicious results. Thanks
This recipe was delicious! Usually your sauces with sugar are a monumental disaster for me – this one was a success! Will be using this method from now on. Next up you need to make a sesame tofu and/or sweet and sour!
I just tried the sauce with veggies over rice. My littles like it which is huge because they are picky eaters. Thanks for the recipe. – grateful mom of three
I ran out of tofu so I made this with chestnut mushrooms instead and it was delicious! It tasted exactly like a takeaway, but obviously so much better for you! I think I would reduce the amount of tamari I used next time though as it got a little bit salty towards the end! Thanks for the recipe though :)
This looks delicious! Do you think it would work with seitan instead of tofu, for a more meaty texture?
Dana, ….you’re genius. This was so delicious I almost made myself sick. ..I couldn’t stop eating this!
Perfect Friday Night Meal! My non-vegan husband gobbled it all up! Cookbook is in the mail – can’t wait!
I love this recipe! I make so many of your dishes over and over again. This one is definitely a favorite! Thank you for posting such unique and delicious dishes…it would be hard to be a vegan without you. I’m making this dish right now for lunch!
This recipe is genius… I made it last night and we all loved it, including my two teen boys. Sauce is perfect blend of sweet/heat/salt. I’ve just ordered your book and can’t WAIT to get it.
I have to say though, no WAY is this a 30 minute recipe… I’m a skilled, experienced home cook, know my way ’round the kitchen and this took me WELL over an hour to put together. Just add up all the “let it sit” prep notes and your almost at 30 mins alone, without factoring in cook time. In no way do I want to slam the recipe… it’s going into my regular rotation ASAP… but I think you should be a bit more realistic with your prep/cook time windows.
Thank you for sharing this!
Thank you so much for this recipe!
We made it last night and absolutely loved it, this might become one of my new favourite recipes actually. We added some green beans to increase the vegetable part in it and they fitted very well in, but I’m sure it’s still wonderful without them.
Love … Love… Super delicious ! Great job!
Thanks for this excellent recipe, Dana! It really satisfied my craving for greasy Chinese take-out, with the added benefit of having no MSG–win!
5/5, will make again very soon, but I have to agree with another commenter who said that the dish took longer than 30 minutes to make. I’m not sure if the total time is supposed to reflect just the time spent making the tofu and sauce (in which case, 30 minutes might be appropriate), but the meal will take longer if sides are added (which I did). In fact, I saw the time estimate, thought, “No way is that possible if I also make broccoli and rice,” and challenged myself to make the meal as efficiently as possible. I think I came in somewhere between 50-60 minutes (from putting water on to cook rice to stuffing my face with deliciousness). Thanks again for the recipe!
Thanks for sharing! If you make sides with it, it does take longer.
Great recipe! We’re definitely adding it to our regular rotation. I do agree with a couple of the other comments though, it took me about an hour to make. I kind of figured that would be the case just from looking at the recipe so I didn’t mind.
General Tso’s is my absolute favorite Chinese takeout dish and I like this better than any I’ve bought. I think the maple syrup made all of the difference. In my googling I found most recipes have chicken broth in them. I won’t be getting general’s tofu takeout unless it’s from a vegan place from now on. But who needs takeout with this!
FYI, I used Sambal Oelek since I didn’t have chili garlic paste and it added great chili flavor.
This recipe was amazing. Increased the sauce by half but really didn’t need to. My 11 year old became a vegetarian a few months ago and this recipe is definitely going into regular rotation. We both loved it!
Hey there, I was wondering what we could do to make this recipe a no-oil recipe?
Cheers.
Sooo delicious! My 21 yr. old, non-vegan, son had two bowls–it was that good. I substituted “non-meat” grilled chicken strips for the tofu. Thanks for all your wonderful vegan recipes.
Excited to make it for my girlfriends birthday tomorrow …. Wish me luck….. Happy birthday Gina ??
SO GOOD. Just made this, currently eating it, my apt smells amazing… didn’t have dried chilies on hand and i love spicy, so definitely gonna make this next time with the chilies. I always buy the tofu from trader joe’s and was never able to make a fully satisfying meal out of it until now. Thanks!!
Incredible! This recipe is perfect, the flavors are so delicious and authentic. In fact, so authentic that I brought some to work for lunch today and my colleague walked into my office and exclaimed “you ordered Chinese?” Thank you for another great recipe. I can’t wait to get the cookbook.
Would this work with tempeh as well?
Thanks a bunch!
Veggie love from Holland :)
I haven’t tried it with tempeh, but if you do, let me know how it goes!
This recipe is delicious! The heat from the red chilies is amazing, the marinade is perfectly balanced…and breading the tofu is a nice change to how I normally cook my tofu. I’ve found a few other gems on your site so I’ll definitely be ordering your book tonight! I did some substitutions: soba noodles instead of white rice. Bok choy instead of broccoli. And I added avocado, white onion and cucumber (minced) on top at the end.
Great recipe. One vegetarian and three meat-eaters in the family and we all loved it (especially the sauce). Happy to have found this website recently. Thanks!
This is a perfect recipe th u th u th u
I just devoured a bowl of this deliciousness. I am full and happy! I did everything just as the recipe instructed. The only issue I had was that my tofu didn’t get crispy on the outside. I’m not sure what went wrong, but it still tasted amazing. That is a LOT coming from me, because I generally don’t like tofu. I used 14oz of tofu because that’s what was in the pack I got. I didn’t increase anything else and it still worked out perfectly. I divided it into four servings (326 calls each for the tofu and sauce mixture) and served it with broccoli, carrots and white rice. It was so good. I highly recommend it. It took just under an hour from start to finish. It is absolutely worth it!
I’d give it a full 5 stars!!
Hi all! I made this for the second time tonight and happened upon an interesting substitution.
I thought I had a bunch of green onions, but it turns out I only had three left. I knew I needed to find something else to cook with the chilis because I had 15oz of tofu and already made a double batch of sauce. I didn’t want the main meal to be just tofu, quinoa, and a barge-load of tasty sauce! I found some garlic scapes in the fridge and chopped them up hoping for the best. Guys, it was sooooo good! I am a lover of garlic and this was not too overpowering even though there is already garlic in the sauce. If you have some garlic scapes lying around I highly recommend you give this a try, even in addition to the green onions.
My daughter has recently become vegan and I’m always on the lookout for recipes that vegans are carnivores will enjoy. This one is fantastic! I am making it tonight for the third time in three weeks by family request. I use whatever fresh vegetable I have on hand – tight its with mushrooms, scallions and red pepper. It’s really one of the best tofu recipes I have ever made. Thanks so much for sharing!
Woah. This was SUPER DELICIOUS. Like, restaurant quality taste right here. I made this dish by itself (no sides) and it took me less than 20 minutes. Instead of soaking the tofu in the soy sauce/maple syrup mixture, I lightly drizzled some of the sauce over the tofu and tossed it around with the cornstarch before frying. After a crispy coating is formed I poured the sauce over it in the pan. Amazing :D
We need to start doing no oil. Any suggestions on how to replace the flavor of sesame oil? We can sautee in water, no issue. I’m thinking, perhaps, toasted sesame seeds?
Hi. First of all i love minimalist baker. It saved me when i became a vegan and was clueless. I tried this recipe and it came out delicious. My two teenage girls loved it. I only had difficulty getting the tofu crispy. It stuck to the pan. What am i doing wrong? Thanks, S
This is so delicious! Easy to make – hardest part is not eating it all in one sitting!
I’m a bit of a wimp about spicy food so I omitted the dried chilies.
Amazing! Makes you feel like a gourmet chef.
Absolutely scrumptious! I just made this dish and seriously cannot believe it’s vegan! WOW!!!! I started this journey 6 weeks ago and never thought it would be as easy as it has been. I brought your cookbook last weekend and am excited to see future projects. Thank you for making this transition so easy and still YUMMMMYYYYY.
Made this for the first time last night. Delicious! We gobbled it up. Also, I finally ordered your cookbook and it’s coming tomorrow. Yippee!
I love this recipe it was good, next time I will make more sauce. The tofu was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. thanks.
Hey! Im excited to try this but would like to leave out the soy–can cauliflower work? Thanks!
Hands-down the best homemade tofu I’ve ever had! I love this with brown rice and stir-fried onions, garlic, and broccoli. I sometimes add some kimchi too–fab!
I finally got around to making this recipe and MAN IT WAS GOOD. My husband, who normally hates tofu, gobbled it up and said “best tofu I’ve ever had.” So thanks! Just one question: When I fried the tofu it stuck to the bottom of the pan, so a lot of the delicious brown cornstarch layer peeled off. Did I not heat the oil up enough? Should I have used a nonstick pan? Even still, it was divine. Thank you thank you!
Hi Tania, a nonstick pan will help with sticking issues, but if you do use a cast iron or metal skillet you might have needed to add a little extra oil! Next time, after heating the oil, add one or pieces of tofu to test it. If those pieces don’t stick, go ahead and add the rest!
I don’t understand why every time I cook tofu this way it just sticks to the bottom of the pan and crumbles into mush. I drain just the way I am supposed to, but I never get that crisp looking outside like you have in your photo, the tofu always just soaks up the oil and I am tired of eating a gelatinous mess of tofu! Please help!
When I first cooked this I had the same issue. I put my stove on high to heat the skillet then cooked my tofu in small batches. It takes more time but I was able to cook each piece perfectly! It stopped the cornflour coating my from coming off. I then cooked the veg with half the sauce, added the tofu and stirred a bit before adding the rest of the sauce. It turned out perfect! No broken bits!!
Try freezing the Tofu – after you cut it into cubes, after it’s frozen, thaw it out and squeeze out the water. Use extra firm tofu. This changes the texture of the tofu.
I had the same problem but it still came out delicious.
I made this last night – and it’s not very often I will follow an exact recipe without putting my own spin on it, but this looked TOO GOOD. I made it to the recipe and it’s the first time I’ve really liked tofu. This was so delicious. I’ve put a photo on my Instagram username jessy.wallace and tagged you. Going to fry up the leftovers tonight for fried rice :)
I made this for dinner and it was a-mazing! I followed the recipe, made no substitutions and it was delicious. My husband who would eat a steak every night if he could loved it and went back for seconds. Next time I’m making a double batch! Thanks for the great recipe.
I made this recipe last night and it was amazing! I served it with sautéed bok choy and brown rice. My meat eating fiancé was looking for more! This recipe is definitely a keeper and will be used on a regular basis in our home. Thank you so much!
Made this today!! Soooooo good. I added a little extra coconut sugar because I needed more sweetness. Went perfect with brown rice and broccoli! You’ve done it again, Dana! My husband loves too :)
This was absolutely dreadful. I followed the recipe exactly, and all it tasted of was SALT! It was so overpowering I couldn’t even finish my small portion, and that was after adding 2 tbsp of brown sugar mixed with a bit of water to the finished product to try and counteract the sodium overdose. The brown sugar made it at least edible. This leads me to believe the other reviewers’ tongues had fallen off in a horrific accident before they made this.
Was looking for a vegan friendly, healthy option to make my go to comfort food. FOUND IT! Thanks!
Thank-you so much for posting this. I need to adapt half of a recipe for Stir-Fried Sichuan-Style Shrimp with Zucchini, Red Bell Pepper, and Peanuts (Cook’s Illustrated) to use tofu instead of shrimp, and your clear instructions are so appreciated!
Dana, are you kidding me?! This was unreal!!!! We all licked our plates. Wow.
I have a toddler so I used 2tsp chili garlic instead of a while tablespoon and he gobbled it up with a side of yogurt.
Another keeper for our rotation!
Yay! Thanks Kate! xoxo
Just made this and I am enjoying it thoroughly! I love General Tso’s tofu and I am glad there is a home made option for me that I like. Thank you! I cannot wait to try more of your recipes! The white bean and mushroom “meatballs” are next I think!!
So I’m never one to jump in and leave comments on a recipe but I made this for dinner tonight and WOW, it was delicious! To be honest I’m not a fan of tofu but I’ve been eating healthier and figured how bad could fried anything be? lol If no one were to have told me I wouldn’t have known it was even tofu, it was THAT good! It’s a little high on the calorie side once you add in the rice and broccoli but much much better for you than takeout. Defiantly going to be having this again!
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Malory!
I made this last night and it was absolutely delicious! Perfect paired with rice and steamed kale. I will definitely be trying more of your wonderful recipes!
Thanks
I made this last night and it took me much longer than 30 minutes to make–more like an hour. My tofu cooked up fine, however, when the perfectly crispy, wonderfully delicious tofu was added with the sauce, all that crispness vanished. That was pretty disappointing because I had just spent all that time cooking it to get the crispy edges. After reading the reviews, I doubled the sauce and served it with blanched broccoli. Despite the tofu issue, the overall dish was delicious and was still really good the next day.
I’ve made this at least six times. I followed Kenji’s advice (Serious Eats) on how to make a crispy fried tofu and it works every time. In fact, right now I have my tofu pressing! This is an awesome recipe and I’m sure I would have cracked under desperation for my beloved General Tso if I hadn’t made this.
I wanted to love this! But alas, it was inedible :( I have made MANY Minimalist Baker recipes, and I have never had a bad experience… But something is not correct with this recipe.
I followed the directions exactly, and I made no substitutions. When I fried the tofu, it turned into a MESS – the tofu formed a crust that promptly pulled off once I tried to flip each piece. The result was a gummy mess in my pan of pieces of fried cornstarch.
Ever the optimist, I was willing to salvage what I could, so I went to proceed to the next step. Before doing so I tasted to tofu, and it was GROSS. The only flavor I got in my mouth was that of CORN STARCH, and the texture in my mouth was unpleasant. I ended up tossing the tofu, turning my oven off, and ordering out.
I am sure the flavors are delicious in the sauce, and I’m willing to try again using a different method of preparing the tofu… but be forewarned – this method did not work for me.
Hi Dana! I made this delicious meal tonight and LOVED IT! It was such a great balance of heat & sweet. Was a terrific alternative to General Tso’s chicken! Thank you!!!!
I’ve made this 3 times now in quick succession coz it’s amazing! My new fave. Thanks for this. Love it.
I also had problems cooking the tofu, but in the end it was delicious anyway. Next time I will use Kenji’s Serious Eats guide for getting that tofu right :)
THIS IS SOOOO STUPID AAHHMMAZING!! I am talking best meal I’ve had since I went plant based Amzing. I LOVE Asian inspired dishes and was my favorite meal when I was an omniovore but nothing ever compares…. until now– this really hit the mark. I have served it now to FOUR different disbelieving omnivores and made believers out of them HAHA! It is realllllyy good! I add a tad more coconut sugar and I double the sauce because I like to add snow peas with the broccoli so I like the sauce on the veggies and a little with my rice. It is amazing! I even used the leftovers and made a “fried rice” and served it to some friends and they swooned for it lolol THANK YOU for this recipe!
Ha! Thanks Meg! xoxo
My suggestion, to save some time, is to marinate the tofu in the sauce. I just grilled the tofu after marinating it about 3 hours, without the corn starch, but added some to the marinating sauce once I added it to the green onion (i also added kale). Made the sauce a bit sticky that covered everything really well and the tofu stil’ came out brown and crispy :) Really good!
I made this tonight. Came out great!! I’ll make it again for sure. I just wish I had made a double batch because I want left overs!
SO GOOD!! Just made this last night and I am in love! I am actually excited to have the leftovers for lunch. I chose to put it over some rainbow quinoa and I think it worked wonderfully well together. It definitely took my partner and I longer than the time listed but I think after getting the tofu plus cornstarch process down a little better we will get quicker. I look forward to experiment with other veggies! (I’m thinking green beans, zucchini and carrots)
Really great technique for coating and frying the tofu and overall fantastic dish! I make it at least once a week by request!
I just made this and it was delicious! I am looking for new ways to cook tofu and this will definitely be on my list. The only thing I did differently is sauteed the raw broccoli with the green onions and then the sauce because I like my broccoli crunchy. Thanks for the recipe!
The recipe calls for discarding the bulbs of the green onions but I find the bulbs to be the most flavorful part..!
This was really good! I used chili flakes, but kept the rest as is. As a vegetarian for 20 years, it’s nice to have an alternative of a dish I used to like as a kid! I’ll be making this again!
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe! I’ve been missing general tso’s tofu since I moved to the west coast- it doesn’t seem to be as popular here as it is on the east coast and I haven’t been able to satisfy my craving until tonight! Absolutely delicious- I will be making this for years to come. Thank you!
Would this be just as good without any sugar?
It wouldn’t have as much flavor, but you could try cutting the sugar down if you prefer!
I cut the sugar and subbed honey and it was delicious! :)
Wow! We all loved this–even my 14 year old son who can be notoriously picky! I screwed up and made the sauce as the tofu marinade, so I just kept it and used it as the stir fry sauce. Even with this mistake, it turned out great! Thanks for a wonderful recipe! (I’d definitely give it 5 stars, but it’ll only let me click two)
Just found your blog and this recipe. I was so excited about this recipe I picked up all the ingredients shortly after finding it. Made it for dinner and my family loved it. This is the first time my husband and kids have ever tried tofu and they loved this meal. Thank you!
Do you think this would freeze reasonably well once prepared?
Hi Sandra! I think the tofu would freeze well but am not sure about the entire meal. If you give it a try, report back on how it goes!
I’ve used this recipe for tofu and tempeh & it turns out delicious either way everytime
I made this tonight–YUM! Tofu is not in my wheelhouse but I have a feeling this might be a gateway recipe. Thanks!
Did you try hemp tofu?? What kind do I have to use for this recipe?
We haven’t tried it, Laura! If you do, report back on how it goes :D
This recipe is insane! love love love it!
I enjoyed creating this tonight, served with coconut rice and steamed broccoli. The wimp in me left out the red peppers, but I know next time I’ll live dangerously and add a few. Your recipe and photos were helpful, detailed and clear. It turned out just like in the picture – which rarely happens. Thanks for creating and sharing!
SUPER good! My newly vegan boyfriend even dug the tofu! I made the mistake of using extra firm tofu that had been previously thawed and then frozen, so it was super spongy and kind of a pain. We added in snow peas and served it with rice and steamed broccoli! Loved it!
My daughter made this for us on Father’s Day (2017). We had just returned home from 5 hours on the road. A delicious dish made even more delicious by her thoughtfulness and expression of love. I’m planning to make it tonight.
Absolutely delicious! I don’t think I’ve had better sauce in any restaurant! And the texture of the Tofu was wonderful. This will be my usual when I’m craving Chinese Food. Sorry, Orient Express, I’ve found that I can make better at home:)
Really awesome!
Does the calorie count include the rice?
Hi Karen! It doesn’t include any of the additional sides, such as rice or broccoli.
Another hit! My husband, who has mocked tofu, said “this is delicious!” And could not stop eating it. Next time, I will make it spicier and make more sauce. There will definitely be a next time. Thank you for making our plant-based transition easy!
Can I use Arrowroot instead of cornstarch?
Yes that should work, Katelyn!
Love LOVE this recipe!!! I have been dieing to try this since switching to a vegan diet and it was a HUGE success with the fam. I didn’t have cornstarch so I used arrowroot powder instead and it worked liked a charm. I also had jasmine rice in the house and opted to make that instead of an additional trip to the store. Will for sure be making this dish again! Thanks again for the amazing recipe 👏🏻
This is the most amazing dish I’ve had in a long time!! I love your recipes, Dana. in fact, now I ONLY make recipes from your site because all of them have turned out well.
Thank you for sharing your talent. I love eating good, wholesome food that is not too complicated to make :).
Third time making this and has my non vegan hubbies seal approval. I used a mixture of panko and cornstarch the third time and it tastes so yummy. 😀
Dana! This is so easy and so delicious! I’m not exactly your most adventurous or talented cook, but this was such an easy recipe that is pretty much impossible to mess up. Another win from Minimalist Baker!
(I also couldn’t find red chiles in my supermarket, so I just used the chili garlic sauce when I sauteed the green onions and it came out delicious!)
This far exceeded my expectations! I am not a fan of tofu or General Tso’s but your recipe won me over on both counts!!! This is a restaurant quality meal.
I make this recipe at least once a month since something like a year or so and it’s always DELICIOUS.
I love it, thanks Dana!
I made this and it was wonderful! I ate more than I should have because it was so delish. I also added diced celery with the peppers and onions, which gave it a really nice crunch!
Warning, don’t sub arrowroot powder for corn starch. I tried and it turned into a big inedible sticky tofu ball. :(