Wednesday, March 2, 2011

General Tso tofu & veggie fried rice

I love browsing linky parties…so many good ideas. One of the gems I came across last week was this simple recipe for a meatless meal, General Tso tofu and vegetable fried rice, from Jennifer at Peas & Crayons. I happened to have some firm tofu in the fridge (and really, no clue what to do with it!), so thought I’d give the General Tso a try.

So. Good. Seriously, I was a bit skeptical about the tofu, but a little crust from an egg and corn starch dredging, and the sauce made it a fabulous meal that even my picky sons and meat-lovin’ hubby devoured. Zero leftovers.

Feast your eyes on this:

general tso tofu and fried rice

Okay, it’s blurry, and not the most fabulous food photography, but my kids were literally trying to grab the bowl as I turned on the camera. They did manage to run away with the chopsticks before I could click the shutter, but you get the idea. Yummers. Even more yummers when I poured extra sauce on top of everything.

Here’s the recipe as seen on Peas & Crayons:

Fabulous Fried Tofu

1 pkg extra firm tofu
1 whisked egg
1 shallow dish of corn starch for light dredging
General Tso's sauce of your choice
1-2 teaspoons of olive oil

Press extra moisture out by placing a heavy pot or pan on a paper towel wrapped brick of extra firm tofu.  Next, dip in egg wash and lightly dredge in corn starch.  Heat a frying pan with 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil and lightly fry tofu on all sides.  Once golden, pour in a light layer of General Tso's Sauce to coat.  Plate tofu with your delish fried rice and enjoy =)

I didn’t have any General Tso sauce on hand, so whipped up my own version using 5 tbsp rice wine vinegar, 3 tbsp white sugar, 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce, and a pinch of ginger powder. I have no idea if that’s even remotely authentic, but it tasted awesome after I threw it into the hot pan with my fried tofu and let it caramelize a bit.

Jennifer also provided a yummy recipe for veggie fried rice, but I just improvised with what I had in the fridge.

This tofu will definitely be going into my regular dinner rotation. It’s high protein, low fat, easy to prepare – and ridiculously delicious. Try it!

PS…does anyone know the correct spelling for Tso? I’ve seen Tso, Tao, Tsao…never sure which to use.

6 comments:

  1. Ahhhh this is the highlight of my day! <3 I'm so glad you loved it... and the boys too!!! Success!

    good call on the homemade sauce - i'm totally using your sauce recipe for my next tofu-fest! Thanks girl -- and thanks for the link love! I can't wait to feature this on my recipe post i'm working on! you rock!

    xoXOxo
    Jenn @ Peas & Crayons

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for sharing Tanya. My daughter stopped eating meat 2 months ago and I've been looking for new recipes to try for her. Glad to know your meat-lovin’ hubby enjoyed it, therefore I know mine will too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks delicious! Will definitely try this. My youngest daughter is a vegetarian so I am always looking for meet free recipes. Thanks for posting this !!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. yum - looks good - you seem a natural wiht the tofu - all that whippin' up sauce talk! well done!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I had never thought to dredge tofu, what a great looking recipe. I have seen it spelled all of those ways too - I guess you can use any of them. I love the flavors in it.

    I will be posting your great giveaway later today or tomorrow. I love it. It doesn't look handmade, at least not the way it would have looked if I had handmade it! Your knitting is so even and wonderful. I love the clever way it attaches too. We are still cold here, so I have plenty more use out of it. Thanks again so much. I had never won anything until these last few months blogging. It is just a blast!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I really like Tofu when I order it out, but never think to make it at home, but yours looks really great, and so simple to do. Will definitely give this one a try.
    Thanks
    Lisa

    ReplyDelete