Vegan General Tso's Tofu Recipe

This vegan General Tso's tofu is made with crispy tofu and tender broccoli coated in a sweet and spicy ginger garlic marinade. It's served with rice and fresh sliced green onion. It tastes just like takeout! 

General Tso/Tso's is a Chinese dish made with a protein, broccoli, and onions coated in a sweet and slightly spicy sauce. Broccoli is my favorite stir fry veggie, so you bet I love this dish.

I prefer to make it at home vs ordering it in a restaurant because I can add as much broccoli as I want. I also like cooking the tofu using the cornstarch breading method in this recipe because it gets nice and crispy with very little effort.

🧾 Ingredients

You'll need...

• Tofu (I use firm or extra firm so it's nice and chewy)
• Soy sauce
• Rice wine vinegar (or rice vinegar—they are very similar)
• Toasted sesame oil (this adds a ton of flavor to the dish, so don't skip it!)
• Cornstarch (for the tofu and stir fry sauce)
• Chili sauce
• Vegetable broth
• Agave nectar
• Peanut or vegetable oil
• Garlic & ginger (fresh is best!)
• Broccoli
• Onions
• Green onions
• Cooked rice (for serving)

🔪 Instructions

You can prepare this dish quickly and prep some parts ahead of time so that it's easy to make on a weeknight.

Tofu

The first step is pressing the tofu. This is my favorite tofu press. You place the tofu between the plates and tighten it as it squeezes out the water. It's a little more hands on than other brands of tofu presses, but I've had other presses break on me, but this one has held up for years.

If you'd like a more in depth tofu pressing tutorial, check out the instructions in this post.

After you're done pressing the tofu, it will marinate for 20-30 minutes. You can do this step the night before or ahead of time so the you're ready to cook at dinner.

Before pan frying the tofu, it's tossed to coat in cornstarch. This makes the outsides extra crispy! You can use this method for any dish you like, and it's super easy.

Sauce and veggies

The stir fry sauce is simple to make—you just need to stir together all of the ingredients in a cup. Make sure to dissolve the cornstarch completely in the liquid so you don't get chunks of starch in your dish. The cornstarch thickens up the sauce when heated.

Some recipes will call for steaming the broccoli and serving it on the side, but I like stir frying the veggies. Cooking the veggies in the sauce as it thickens up gives them a wonderfully tender texture, while retaining the crunch. This is one of my favorite way to cook broccoli.

💭 Tips

General Tso's tofu is best served immediately after cooking so the tofu stays crispy. Enjoy!

📋 Variation

This recipe is almost gluten free as is. Soy sauce contains gluten, so just swap the soy sauce for tamari or Bragg Liquid Aminos to make this a gluten-free dish.

📖 Recipe

Vegan General Tso's Tofu

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Marinating Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

This vegan General Tso's tofu is made with crispy tofu and tender broccoli coated in a sweet and spicy ginger garlic marinade. It's served with rice and chopped with fresh sliced green onion. It tastes just like the kind at restaurants!

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Ingredients

Tofu

• 1 pound block firm tofu, drained and pressed
• ⅓ cup water
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil, or vegetable oil

Vegetables

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil, or vegetable oil
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 2 teaspoons freshly-grated ginger
• 1 head broccoli, cut into florets and steamed

Stir fry sauce

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1-2 teaspoons chili sauce, or to taste
• ⅔ cup vegetable broth
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons agave nectar

For serving

• 2 cups cooked rice
• ½ cup sliced green onions

Instructions

To prepare the tofu:

1. Press the tofu for at least 30 minutes using a tofu press or by wrapping the tofu in a kitchen towel and placing between two plates with a heavy object on top.
2. Slice the tofu into cubes.
3. Mix together the water, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and garlic in a shallow bowl, and marinate the tofu in the mixture for at least 20-30 minutes.
4. Drain the tofu marinade and place the tofu in a bowl.
5. Sprinkle the cornstarch on top and toss the tofu to coat, adding more cornstarch if necessary.
6. Heat the peanut oil in a large wok or skillet over medium high heat.
7. Place the tofu in the pan and fry until crispy on all sides, about 5 minutes on each side, then transfer to a plate.

For the vegetables:

1. Add the peanut oil to the wok or skillet over medium high heat.
2. Add the garlic, green onions, and ginger and cook for 30 seconds.
3. Add the broccoli and sauté for 4-5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, mix together all stir fry sauce ingredients.
5. Add the tofu back to the pan, along with the sauce, and continue cooking until the sauce thickens and the tofu and broccoli are thoroughly coated.
6. Serve portions of stir fry on a bed of rice and top with sliced green onions.

Notes

• You can press and marinate the tofu ahead of time. Just pick up at the cornstarch step when you're ready to cook.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  EZ Tofu Press - Removes Water from Tofu for Better Flavor and Texture.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 400Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1000mgCarbohydrates: 51gFiber: 6gSugar: 12gProtein: 19g

All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on seitanbeatsyourmeat.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimates.

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