Description
Delicious vegan General Tso’s with all the taste of take-out, but low-oil, low-fuss, and no deep-frying! Plus, the bonus of a load of fresh veggies!
Ingredients
Sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 6 scallions, thinly sliced. separating white and green portions
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 Tbs of fresh ginger, minced
- 5 small dry red chilies
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 3 Tbs rice vinegar
- 2 Tbs mirin
- 3 Tbs sugar
- 1 Tbs cornstarch
Main
- 1 block tofu pressed
- 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 stalk of celery, sliced
- 1 – 1 1/2 cups fresh broccoli florets
- sesame seeds (for garnish)
- 2 cups cooked Basmati rice
Instructions
First
- Start your rice*
- Press tofu for 10-15 minutes**
- slice your veggies and set aside
Prepare the Sauce
- In a medium saucepan heat the sesame oil for a minute or two
- Add the white part of scallions, garlic, ginger, and chilies. Cook fr 1-2 minutes
- Add water, soy sauce, mirin, and rice vinegar. Simmer for 5 minutes
- in a small bowl whisk together the sugar and cornstarch
- add 3-4 Tbs of liquid from the simmering sauce to the sugar and cornstarch. whisk until smooth
- add the mixture to sauce in the pot
- add green pieces of scallions
- continue to simmer on low, for an additional 5 minutes
Meanwhile…
- add 3 Tbs of water to a wok on medium-high heat (the goal is to steam veggies, not boil them. as veggies cook, add water 1 Tbs at a time just to keep the pan from going dry and the veggies from sticking)
- add the sliced carrots and cook, occasionally stirring, for a minute or two
- add celery and broccoli. cook until broccoli is bright green but still slightly crunchy
- add the air-fried tofu chunks and immediately add the sauce
- gently toss to combine and evenly coat with the sauce
- serve on basmati rice, garnished with the sesame seeds
About the tofu
We air fry the tofu until nicely crunchy, which stands up nicely to the tossing and the sauce. If you don’t have an air fryer you can use a scant amount of oil in a non-stick pan for a similar result. Air frying will take about 10 minutes. If you need to pan-fry you might consider doing it before cooking the veggies so you don’t have quite some much going on. 🙂
Notes
* get the rice started first. You will want it ready, warm, and standing by as soon as the veggies and tofu are done (saying this for all the people who might have forgotten how long rice takes – which happens occasionally even with us, lol)
** we use a tofu press but you can also wrap your block of tofu in a clean dishtowel, put it on a cutting board, and place a heavy pot on top. A press is easy, cleaner, and doesn’t generate laundry.
Crispy Air Fried Tofu: https://www.fullofbeans.us/crispy-air-fried-tofu/
The Tofu Press: https://www.fullofbeans.us/kitchen-gadget-of-the-week-how-to-use-a-tofu-press-how-to-press-tofu/
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