I recently heard someone describing "General Tso" chicken and she was ooh-ing and aah-ing and going on and on about how great it was, but I stopped her halfway through and said, hold on there shortstop, I don't eat meat, remember? then she assured me that I was in luck because apparently the secret is in the sauce. So I let her go on with her sales pitch. Then I went online and figured out all the ingredients. Then I made some General Tso at home with tofu - all within hours! It was fabulous! Horribly, disgustingly fattening but absolutely gorgeous! Spicy and savory and Mmmmmmmm!!! I don't know who exactly General Tso was, but he was certainly a guy who liked adventure!
Now first of all, there is a Vegetarian and a Vegan version. The vegetarian version uses eggs, and the vegan version doesn't. If you are vegan, you can either use a vegan egg substitute you buy in a shop, or you can make your own egg substitue thusly:
Vegan Egg Substitute
Mix: soya flour, wholemeal flour, vegetable oil, soya milk, baking powder and salt.
OK - I'm guessing at the proportions here because I'm really bad at translating what I do into Human Speak; but basically 1/4 cup each of the soya flour, wholemeal flour, vegetable oil and soya milk, then about a teaspoon each of baking powder and salt. Mix it all up and if you need to adjust the consistency of the goo, add either flour or soya milk as needed. You can store the unused portion in the fridge for a few days.
OK Here's the ingredients you need for the whole shebang:
Ingredients
A half kilo 16 ounce) extra firm tofu
2 eggs, beaten (or egg replacer to make it Vegan)
5 teaspoons cornstarch, for sauce
1/2 cup cornstarch, for breading
5 tablespoons rice vinegar
6 1/2 tablespoons rice wine
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 cup oil (for frying)
chili oil
Directions
1. Chop tofu into 1 inch cubes, press these between two towels to take out the moisture and dry them.
2. Mix rice vinegar, rice wine, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, 2 Tbsp Sesame oil, and chili oil to taste. Add to this the cubes of tofu, cover and let marinate in refrigerator at least 4 hours, preferably over night. BTW if you like things really spicy, add a little chili paste. If you like things even spicier than that, chuck in some actual chilis.
3. Next, remove the tofu from the marinade. Try to remove as much outer moisture from them as you can. Set them aside.
4. Take the marinade and add to it the 5 tsp Cornstarch and 1/2 cup sugar. Then whisk it together.
5. In a large sauce pan bring the marinade (now General Tso's Sauce) to boiling over medium low heat. It should be thick when done. Then remove from heat.
6. Beat two eggs, (or pour about 2 egg's worth of the the vegan goo that you pre-made) and immerse the tofu in it, covering all sides with egg/vegan goo. Then remove the tofu and place it on a paper towel. Then toss the tofu in the 1/2 cup cornstarch to lightly cover each side. Shake off the excess.
7. Heat 1/2 cup oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Then place in the tofu, turn it during cooking so that each side gets browned.
8. When all sides are browned, place the tofu on a paper towel to get rid of excess oil. Then add the tofu into the sauce and heat over low for 3-5 minutes until everything is heated through.
9. Serve with rice. Oh. I forgot to mention that you should make some rice. But hopefully you're reading this all through before you actually make the stuff.
10. Serve it and rake in the compliments.
Oh! BTW: Sesame seeds ad a really nice touch. You can sprinkle a few on when it's done. It looks kind of cool too.
Here is the nutritional info!!
Serving Size 1 (388g)
Recipe makes 3 servings
Calories 873
Calories from Fat 497 (56%)
Amount Per Serving %DV
Total Fat 55.2g 84%
Saturated Fat 9.1g 45%
Monounsaturated Fat 22.4g
Polyunsaturated Fat 20.7g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 141mg 47%
Sodium 2751mg 114%
Potassium 437mg 12%
Total Carbohydrate 68.0g 22%
Dietary Fiber 2.4g 9%
Sugars 35.4g
Protein 22.5g 45%
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