Kung Pao Tofu

From EatingWell: March/April 2008

Tofu and lots of fresh vegetables are stir-fried in just a bit of oil in this traditional Chinese dish. In the Sichuan province of China where this dish originates, the tofu wouldn't be deep-fried like it is so often in America. Similarly, in our version of this takeout favorite we stir-fry the ingredients in only a little bit of oil.

READER'S COMMENT:

"It says oyster "flavored" sauce to make it vegetarian...in the tips and notes section... "

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24 Reviews for Kung Pao Tofu

06/02/2012

Anonymous

Peanuts soft

The peanuts did not come out like a traditional Chinese dish. Maybe they need to be quickly fried first? Not sure but mine were soft and the texture not good. Additionally you can't fry tofu properly according to this recipe. Have tried a million times and it comes out a soggy mess stuck to the bottom. You have to really fry it in oil at med-high heat - needs to be enough oil for the tofu to float! Then you'll get your nice golden tofu with white insides. If you follow this recipe it will all stick to your pan or be soggy and break into pieces.

I've been reading the recipes and comments on this site and people want to make a good recipe out of what's given, not invent their own stuff to add on the fly. I'm tired of not knowing what to make, picking a recipe that seems good, only to find out my family hates it because it's just not good. It kills the adventurous cooking spirit.

Pros: Nice combo of items

Comments

03/14/2012

Anonymous

Recommends this recipe

Wonderful and healthy!

I really liked the simplicity of this recipe. I was originally worried that without adding some type of brown sugar or sweetener like many other stir fry sauces call for, that it would be too salty or lack dimension. The five spice powder and the cinnamon in it actually added a hint of sweet flavor to the dish. I made this for my mother who had never tried tofu and she absolutely loved it. I served it over whole wheat udon noodles and added some snow peas to the vegetable mix.

Pros: Easy, no added sugar or sweeteners

Comments (1)

21 comments

Anonymous wrote 52 weeks 12 hours ago

If someone eats seafood, they

If someone eats seafood, they are not vegetarian, they are pescatarian.

02/01/2011

raheli4

Really good

We skipped the "oyster flavored sauce" and used soy sauce instead. Overall, it was quite good and I would definitely make it again.

Comments (1)

21 comments

Anonymous wrote 1 year 13 weeks ago

Vegetarian oyster-style sauce

Vegetarian oyster-style sauce is available, or you can make your own - Bryanna Clark Grogan has one on her website, just do a search.

09/07/2010

Anonymous

It says oyster "flavored" sauce to make it vegetarian...in the tips and notes section...

Comments

08/19/2010

Anonymous

OYSTER sauce is not a vegetarian ingredient in any way shape or form. Promoting this dish as vegetarian is grossly misleading and an affront to those following a vegetarian diet. 'Without overt meat ingredients' does not qualify a recipe as vegetarian. Please investigate recipes more thoroughly before indicating their suitability for any particular dietary plan.

Comments (3)

21 comments

Sarah_508 wrote 26 weeks 12 hours ago

You can buy vegetarian oyster

You can buy vegetarian oyster sauce made out of oyster mushrooms at any Asian market.

Anonymous wrote 47 weeks 3 hours ago

Vegetarians can't and won't

Vegetarians can't and won't eat seafood (timj), you're thinking of pescetarians. However the note does say 'oyster flavoured' sauce not oyster sauce which does make this dish vegetarian.

timj wrote 1 year 33 weeks ago

Sorry to say you are wrong. Vegetarians can and will eat seafood.