General Tso’s Crispy Tofu
Skip the takeout and give this General Tso's Crispy Tofu a try!
We are big fans of take out food in this house - specifically most anything from an Asian country. It is a steady rotation between Chinese, Indian, Thai and Japanese with weather, mood and day of the week dictating which part we travel to. If my son has a say, it is always Japanese. Aside from chocolate and anything even closely resembling a gummy bear, he would chose sushi every night of the week and twice on Sunday. (favourite A Few Good Men quote)
I am fairly comfortable in the kitchen but I find I never really replicate those quintessential Asian flavours quite as well as my local neighbourhood spots do. This General Tso's Crispy Tofu comes pretty darn close. My relationship with tofu is turmultuous and I've written about it here but once our house got on board with pressed, firm tofu we officially became #teamtofu. It is the go-to dinner protein when I forget to defrost something from the freezer. Pressed and firm is the way to go.
The history of why its called General Tso's is up for debate but the flavour profile is fairly agreed upon. It is some combination of soy, vinegar, sugar and heat. Everyone has their own version and after several attempts I have landed on my own General Tso's sauce recipe. I use maple syrup as the sweetener and Chinese black vinegar for tartness. It has a deeper, almost smoky, flavour to it. If you don't have black vinegar, apple cider vinegar or white vinegar would also work well.
This recipe is part of a series I do for Food Bloggers of Canada called On Board in 20 where I create wholesome meals that are shared family style. You can find the recipe for this General Tso's Crispy Tofu and other 20 minute meals right here. Enjoy!
Link to the recipe: General Tso's Crispy Tofu
