Tell me this doesn’t completely set your salivary glands on overdrive!!! Bet ya cant! This dish is SO delicious! General Tso’s Tofu has been a favorite dish of mine for a few years now and the spicy flavors, the sauce drenched broccoli, and fried tofu chunks get my mouthwatering big time!! Ding! Pavlov’s Dogs Style! Mega Yum!

Let me fill you in with a little back story on my survival strategy as a brand new vegetarian back in the day (3 years, 6 months, 11 days, 21 hours and still going strong! WooHoo!) Eat More…

CHINESE FOOD!!

Yup! Not the healthiest way to go, but it worked for me. When I first stumbled into my animal free lifestyle, I had no other choice but to cut out animal protein cold-turkey and become an over night tofu-ivore! I was terrified of tofu as every time I had ever tried it before it wasn’t the best experience. “Ew, a spongy, tasteless, mushy block… that I was suppose to eat…?! Bleh, no thanks!” BUT I was lucky enough to discover a China Star restaurant right across the street from my neighborhood that knew how to prepare tofu really well, and with a $4.25 combo dish, they couldn’t stop me (or I guess it was me who couldn’t stop me!)! It was General Tso’s Tofu, Sweet and Sour Tofu, Hot and Spicy Tofu, Tofu and Broccoli in Garlic Sauce, Tofu Buddhist Delight! Anything I used to order that had meat in it I’d just sub out for the tofu and go to town. Surprisingly enough the tofu flavor and texture was satisfy and a great substitute! I’m not saying that it tasted anything like chicken or beef, but it was so good on its own for what it was, and I loved it! And craved it! And it saved me in the beginning by helping me transition from being a full on 3-animal-protein-meals-a-day omnivore, to cutting out chicken, beef, pork, and turkey completely. BAM! Never again!

I was probably ordering Chinese food every other week, or maybe even once a week for while there, but it was because I had no idea what I was doing as a new veg-head and with no veggie friendly friends to turn to, Chinese food did the trick. It worked for me. I subbed out the white rice for the brown and called it a day. Those Chinese food days are long gone for me and are but a distant memory as I moved back home, became obsessed with learning about my body and a healthier lifestyle, and said “Sayonara college take-out days!”

But, its still nice to splurge every once and again!

So, in honor of my Chinese food love affair I made homemade General Tso’s Tofu/Mock Chicken! And of course, I thought  I’d share!

Here goes! You will need:

  1 box extra firm tofu OR 1 bag Morning Star Chicken’ Strips
  1 eggs worth of Egg Replacer
  5 tablespoons water
  1 cup cornstarch
  olive oil for frying
  1 bunch green onions, chopped
  2 tablespoon minced ginger
  2 tablespoon minced garlic
  1 1/3 cup vegetable stock
  1/4 cup sugar
  2 tablespoons soy sauce
  2 tablespoon white vinegar
  red pepper, to taste
  1 bunch steamed broccoli

1. Mix 1 eggs  worth of the egg replacer with 3 tablespoons water and whisk.  Dip, roll, and coat the tofu or Mock Chicken’ strips in the egg replacer mixture.  Remove from the bowl and roll the “egg” soaked chunks into a plate of cornstarch and make sure to coat completely. Set aside.

2. Heat olive oil in pan and fry tofu and/or mock chicken’ pieces until golden and slightly crispy. Get rid of the used oil. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a pan on medium heat.  Add chopped green onions, minced ginger, and minced garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. 

3. Add vegetable stock, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and red pepper. 

4. Mix 4 tablespoons water with 2 tablespoon cornstarch (stir stir stir!) and pour into sauce mixture.  Add fried tofu, Mock Chicken’ and the steamed broccoli and coat everything evenly. AND SERVE!

We served ours over brown rice and ate it with chop sticks and Abita beer!
YumYumYum! We had so much left over I made Daniel take the entire thing home so I wouldn’t be tempted to eat any more!!

TRY THIS RECIPE OUT! You will LOVE it!!! Its easy easy to make and so satisfying!! Even meat eaters will dig this one, BIG TIME! ENJOY!! Let me know how it goes of you test this one out!!

Have a lovely day!