The Ultimate Easy to Prepare Vegetarian Recipes Cookbook - Crispy Kung Pao Tofu

Crispy Kung Pao Tofu

Ingredients:

Cornstarch                               ½ cup and 2 teaspoons, separated

Vegetable oil                           1 ½ quarts

All-purpose flour, sifted         ½ cup

Baking powder                       ½ teaspoon

Kosher salt

Cold water                              ½ cup

Vodka                                     ½ cup

Tofu, extra firm                       ½ pound

Vegetable stock                      ¼ cup

Soy sauce                                1 tablespoon

Chilli paste, Sichuan               1 tablespoon

Vinegar, Chinkiang                 1 tablespoon (can be substituted with cane vinegar or white vinegar)

Sugar                                       2 teaspoons

Scallions, minced                    1 piece (separate the whites and the greens)

Garlic, minced                         1 tablespoon

Ginger, grated                         1 tablespoon

Dry chilli peppers, chopped    4 pieces

Leeks, cut ¼ inch sizes           1 piece

Celery, cut ¾ inch sizes          2 ribs

Roasted peanuts                      ¼ cup

Cooked white rice for serving

To Prepare:

In a bowl, combine the ½ cup cornstarch, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Add the cold water and vodka and whisk until the batter is smooth and thin. If too thick, add a couple of tablespoons of water. It should be just as thick as thin paint.

Heat up the vegetable oil in a stainless steel pan or in a wok if you’ve got one. If you have a thermometer, make sure the oil is at 190°C. You can also test the oil with a piece of bread crust; if it browns right away, the oil is ready for deep frying.

Cut the tofu into rectangular blocks, about ¾ of an inch thick. Coat the tofu in the batter individually; allow the excess batter to drip off. Lower the tofu into the hot oil, dropping them away from your body so that the oil doesn’t spatter towards you. Add more tofu until the pan or wok is full. Agitate the tofu a little with a metal spider or slotted spatula so that they don’t stick together. Let the tofu cook until golden brown. Transfer the tofu to a paper-towel lined plate when they’re done.

Set the tofu aside. Combine the stock, soy sauce, bean paste, vinegar, sugar, and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the scallion whites, garlic, and ginger.

Strain the oil you used for deep frying and return about two tablespoons into the pan. Sauté the leeks, and the celery until softened and until the vegetables are tender. Add the scallion, ginger, and garlic mixture and sauté. Add the roasted peanuts, dried chillies, and tofu. Add the sauce mixture last and sauté until everything is coated evenly. Add the scallion greens and give the ingredients a final toss.

Serve the kung pao tofu with white rice.

This is an excerpt from the book: The Ultimate Easy to Prepare Vegetarian Recipes Cookbook