By Andrea Nguyen
“Can you make kung pao chicken with tofu?” the customer asked the Chinese waiter. No, kung pao chicken is made with chicken, the waiter said in a huff. The waiter was likely tired of hearing requests for protein substitutes. But perhaps if the customer asked for kung pao tofu or gong bao dou fu (“gong bow dough foo”, the name in Mandarin), the waiter would have reacted differently and asked the cook to make something along the lines of this kung pao tofu recipe.
I’ve not made this in a while but was thinking of a meatless main dish after a week of recipe testing a shrimp stir-fry. You can’t simply switch tofu for chicken in the recipe because tofu deserves a little special treatment to bring out its umami goodness. That’s why I salt and fry the tofu to sear it and give it some personality and flavor. In a previous kung pao tofu recipe on this site, the tofu got seasoned with salt and coated with cornstarch. I recently found that salting, draining and pan-frying was a more direct way of making the tofu ready for prime time.
Generous amounts of garlic, ginger, chile, and Sichuan peppercorn are involved so the tofu can’t be bland and boring. Also consider the soy sauce and vinegar that inject salty, tangy earthiness. These aromatics and seasonings create the Sichuan imprint of gong bao dou fu. The original dish made with chickenis thought to have been named after Ding Baozhen, a Qing Dynasty official who held the title of Gongbao ("Palace Guardian"). You could call this Palace Guardian Tofu (or Palace Guardian Chicken, if you make the original version).
I like peanuts in kung pao for extra texture and richness. If you're allergic to them, perhaps cashews would do? Many Chinese-American restaurants skip the peanuts, which I think is a travesty to kung pao. That's why I call for a fair amount in this kung pao tofu recipe. Use your own judgement.
Back to the nuts and bolts! When I’m prepping ingredients for stir-frying, I organize myself a little extra. For example, items that get added into the pan at the same time can go into the same prep dish. Note that the ingredients for this kung pao tofu recipe can be readied hours in advance.
Also note that many supermarkets nowadays carry Sichuan peppercorns in the spice section. I was thrilled to see them at Whole Foods in the little boxes by Spicely. Given that development in mainstreaming Asian ingredients, this kung pao tofu recipe is makeable with grocery store ingredients. I've included substitutes for Asian market ingredients to help you along.
Before stir-frying, I quickly read through the recipe and line up the prepped ingredients. Once the wok is fired up, I am dumping in the ingredients, monitoring phases of cooking and just moving fluidly through the recipes. Like many stir-fries, this kung pao tofu comes together quickly. The cooking is exciting and fun, especially in a wok.
There’s a lot of aroma and oils that go into the air so make sure to open a window and run the exhaust fan. I forgot to today and sneezed big time after the chiles and peppercorns hit the oil.
I think it’s been about three years since I made this and in tweaking my kung pao tofu recipe, and my husband remarked that it’s the best one yet!
Helpful related links:
- Tofu buying tips
- Shaoxing rice wine primer
- Sichuan peppercorn low down
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote
Kung Pao Tofu
This is not a complex recipes but there are many repeated ingredients. Read the instructions carefully and line up the ingredients before you start stir-frying.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 14 to 16 ounces extra-firm tofu
- Rounded ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 to 4 tablespoon canola oil, divided
- ⅔ cup roasted, unsalted peanuts
Seasoning sauce 1
- 2 ½ teaspoons regular soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
Seasoning sauce 2
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Chinkiang vinegar, or 1 tablespoon balsamic and 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 ½ teaspoons regular soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce, or ½ teaspoon regular soy sauce plus ½ teaspoon molasses
- 1 ¼ teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Remaining ingredients
- 8 dried red chiles, stemmed, halved lengthwise with scissors, seeds discarded
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
- Rounded 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- Rounded 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- White part of 4 large green onions, cut to match size of peanuts
- Green part of 1 large green onion, cut to match size of peanuts
Instructions
Cut the tofu into thumbnail-size cubes (each about ¾ inch). Sprinkle on the salt and gently toss to coat. Spread out on 2 layers of paper towel and let drain for 10 to 15 minutes.
Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high or high heat. When barely shimmering, add the tofu (work in batches, if needed), then cook for 1 to 2 minutes, tossing and stirring to sear and lightly brown the tofu. Transfer to bowl and set aside.
Reheat the wok or skillet over medium-high heat until bead of water evaporates in 2 to 3 seconds. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and the peanuts, stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant; take care not to burn them. Use a slotted spoon to transfer peanuts to small plate, leaving excess oil behind.
Stir together the ingredients for each of the seasoning sauces, keeping them separate. Set near the stove with the remaining ingredients from dried red chiles down to the green onion.
Reheat the wok or skillet over high heat. Add the chiles and Sichuan peppercorns. Stir briskly for 20 seconds, until aromatic and crisp. Add the tofu, give things a stir, then splash in seasoning sauce 1. Let the tofu absorb the seasonings, then add the garlic, ginger and white scallion parts. Stir-fry for 1 minute more to cook through and become aromatic.
Give seasoning sauce 2 one last stir, then add to wok. When sauce is thick and coats things, about 30 seconds, return the peanuts and add cut green scallion parts. Stir, transfer to a plate, and serve.
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Martin
I've been using your 2015 Gong Bao Dou Fu recipe since, well, 2015. Easily one of my favorite recipes from your website.
Andrea Nguyen
Thank you! Hope the tiny tweaks here improve a little bit on the older recipe!
Kevin P
Andrea,
Awesome recipe! I made this tonight and it rocked my world. The only thing I changed was not to discard the seeds from the chiles. It definitely had a kick! Also, I recently purchased Shaoxing rice wine WITHOUT salt. What a difference that made.
Thanks so much!
--Kevin
Larry
I just made this and (gasp) followed the recipe. You are my hero
Andrea Nguyen
Thank you, Larry!
Thuy Duong
Hi Andrea,
Your KungPao Tofu is a staple in my household, requested and preferred by diehard meat-eaters. So thank you for the updated version.Andrea Nguyen
Hi Thuy -- Wow! Thanks so much for taking time to write. I'm mighty flattered and honored. Go extra pow in the kung pao!
Janice
Yummy! One suggestion to make the recipe more user friendly (especially when reading on a small phone screen without photos): in the ingredient list, the items from red chilis on down appear to be part of "seasoning sauce 2", while they are called out to be added separately starting in step 5. It would be helpful to separate these in the ingredient list from the ingredients that are intended to be in seasoning sauce 2. Thanks!!
Andrea Nguyen
It's hard to control the styling on these blogging platforms. Sorry but it's not as easy to finesse as in Word, or to see as in a printed book. Thanks for the suggestion.
Alan
I also followed the recipe for seasoning sauce 2, only to find out later many of the ingredients are separate. The green onions were over-cooked this way. Otherwise, quite tasty.
Andrea Nguyen
Ackkk! I switched formats for the blog and when that happened, it screwed up the layout of the recipe. Sounds like you figured out things. But I just reformatted the recipe. Sorry. I'm a one-person operation.
LLBR
I made this last night for the first time but I'm sure it will be on regular rotation. Delicious! Easy-to-follow directions and execution went without a hitch. Thank you Andrea, for the guidance and well-written recipe.. You have contributed to my success (to date) in keeping a 2020 New Year's Resolution to prepare at least one tofu-based dinner per week.
Andrea Nguyen
I'm so happy to know this! Thanks for taking time to read the blog, cook and write a comment. Yay for more tofu in your life!
Mae Brown
My daugher made this last Saturday, and we liked it so much, I decided to make it again tonight. It is the best asian dish I have made at home, and probably the best I have enjoyed at a restaurant. It was easy and healthy! Thank you for sharing it with us.
Andrea Nguyen
You're so very welcome, Mae! I'm so happy that you and your family enjoy the dish and recipe so much. Go tofu!
Arielle Schechter
I feel so lucky to have found your recipe. I made it tonight to great success. Was so easy! It’s going in my favorite recipe file. This is the only Kung pao tofu recipe I’ll ever need or want! Thanks again!!Andrea Nguyen
Woohoooo! That's great to know, Arielle! Go little tofu with big flavor.
