With marinated pan-fried tofu and a simple homemade sauce that rivals your favorite takeout, this Kung Pao Tofu is the perfect mix of spicy, savory, and tangy. It’s quick enough for weeknights and easy to adapt to your spice tolerance. Best of all, it requires no hard-to-find ingredients, so you can get cooking with just a few everyday pantry staples while still enjoying that classic kung pao flavor.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Takeout-style flavor at home: Skip the takeout and whip this up at home. Get all of the flavor at a fraction of the price.
- Pantry-friendly ingredients: No specialty ingredients required!
- Easy to throw together: One pan, and dinner’s ready in under 40 minutes!
- High in plant-based protein: A super satisfying meal, thanks to tofu and peanuts.
Ingredients for Kung Pao Tofu
For the Marinated Pan-Fried Tofu
- Extra-firm tofu: You can substitute super-firm tofu as well, but the ratio of sauce to tofu will be a little less as the blocks of super-firm tend to be slightly larger.
- Soy sauce.
- Cornstarch: For light crisping and browning.
Simplified Kung Pao Sauce
- Soy sauce.
- Rice vinegar & balsamic vinegar: Pantry-friendly swaps for shaoxing cooking wine and Chinese black vinegar.
- Brown sugar: A touch of sweetness to balance out the acidity of the vinegar. Can sub maple syrup.
- Chili paste: I use sambal oelek. Huy Fong Chili garlic sauce works great too. Kung pao is a traditionally spicy dish, but feel free to omit if you want a mild version.
- Cornstarch: To thicken the sauce.
- Water or vegetable broth.
- Toasted sesame oil: For a toasted, nutty flavor.
For the Stir Fry
- Peanut oil: Or any neutral oil for stir-frying.
- Dried red chili peppers (optional): It’s ok if you omit these, since we are already adding chili sauce to the sauce. But if you want to boost the spice level even more, add a few dried chili peppers. Depending on the pepper variety, they will vary in spice level. I recommend cutting one open with kitchen scissors and giving it a lick to see how spicy they are; then decide how many to add.
- Garlic, ginger, green onions: Classic Kung Pao aromatics.
- Roasted peanuts: My favorite part of this dish! They add an addictive crunch.
- Sliced water chestnuts: Not all recipes call for these, but growing up, my family’s go-to Chinese restaurant would always add them to their kung pao. So it’s a must for me! Feel free to omit.
- Red bell pepper: For color, nutrition, and a bit of natural sweetness.
- Zucchini: While developing this recipe, I saw that Panda Express adds zucchini to their kung pao chicken and thought that sounded like a great idea!
How to Make Easy Kung Pao Tofu
Step 1 – Prep the tofu: Press and cube the tofu, then toss with cornstarch and soy sauce. Marinate for about 15 minutes.
Step 2 – Make the sauce: Whisk together the kung pao sauce ingredients. Prep the rest of the aromatics and veggies.
Step 3 – Pan-fry the tofu: Once the tofu has soaked up the marinade, pan-fry it till golden on all sides. Set it aside and use the same pan for the rest of the dish.
Step 4 – Cook the aromatics: Stir-fry together the aromatics, dried chilis, and peanuts.
Step 5 – Add remaining stir fry ingredients: Now you can add in your stir fry veggies of choice and cook till tender. Add back in the pan-fried tofu along with water chestnuts.
Step 6 – Add the sauce: Add the sauce and cook to thicken. Finish with the reserved scallion tops and serve.
👩🍳 Sarah’s Recipe Notes 📝
- Don’t skip pressing your tofu! For the best texture, make sure to press your tofu for at least 10-15 minutes. This will help to firm it up and get extra crispy in the pan. It’ll also reduce the splattering as you pan-fry it.
- Keep your veggies crunchy. Something that makes takeout so good is that restaurants cook their vegetables perfectly. I like cooking the veggies in this dish for only a few minutes so they stay on the fresh, crunchy side.
- Give your sauce one more whisk before adding. Since we make the sauce early on in the recipe, the cornstarch might settle at the bottom. To make sure everything is evenly distributed before cooking, give your sauce a good mix before adding it to the pan.
FAQ
Sure thing! You can use a really good nonstick pan to pan-fry the tofu without oil (or with a spritz of spray oil for better results), or you can pop the marinated tofu into the air fryer and air-fry until golden brown. Then just use a splash of water or veggie broth in place of oil for the stir fry. The results won’t be as takeout-style as the original recipe but it should still be pretty tasty.
Adjust the level of spice by adding more/less chili paste, or more/fewer dried red chili peppers.
We always have a jar of árbol chilis in our pantry because they are the easiest variety to find in our local grocery stores. If you look in the international aisle, you should be able to find a few different kinds of chili peppers. Any moderately spicy dried variety will be fine!
Yes, I love adding zucchini or broccoli into kung pao when I want a little extra nutrition. You can add any of your favorite stir fry veggies; just make sure to adjust cook time as needed.
Swap out tamari or gluten-free soy sauce for standard soy sauce.
More authentic kung pao recipes will often use Chinkiang or black vinegar and shaoxing cooking wine. I wanted to adapt this recipe for the average home cook who may not have access to an Asian market and those speciality ingredients. If you happen to have some black vinegar already in your pantry, feel free to use that in place of the balsamic!
More Takeout-Style Tofu Recipes
- Sticky Sesame Tofu – Crispy tofu in a savory and sticky sesame sauce.
- Orange Tofu – A sweet and tangy orange sauce.
- Salt & Pepper Tofu – Fried tofu tossed in salt, pepper, and five spice.
- Spicy Gochujang Tofu – A Korean-inspired tofu dish. Spicy and savory.
Kung Pao Tofu
Ingredients
Marinated Tofu
- 1 (14 or 16 oz) block extra-firm tofu
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Simple Kung Pao Sauce
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon chili paste (optional) I use sambal
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup water or vegetable broth
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Stir Fry
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil or other neutral oil, divided
- 3-6 dried red chili peppers or sub dried red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic about 3-4 cloves
- 2 teaspoons minced or grated ginger
- 3-4 green onions sliced, green and white parts separated
- 1/3 cup roasted peanuts
- 1 (8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts drained
- 1/2 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 1/2 large zucchini chopped
Instructions
Marinate the Tofu
- Press tofu: Drain the block of tofu and use your favorite method to press it for 10-15 minutes. (This will help it splatter less when frying.)
- Cut or tear: Cut the tofu into cubes (about 3/4") or tear into bite-sized pieces.
- Marinate: To a mixing bowl, add soy sauce and cornstarch and stir to dissolve cornstarch. Add tofu pieces and toss to coat. Cover and allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes. Give the tofu a toss occasionally so it marinates evenly.
Prep the Sauce
- Make the sauce: Whisk together all ingredients for the sauce: soy sauce, rice vinegar, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, chili paste, cornstarch, water (or veggie broth), and toasted sesame oil. Set aside.
Stir-Fry
- Chili pepper notes: Different types of dried red chilis will vary in their spice level. If you're unsure how spicy yours are, I recommend giving one a taste. If you don't have whole dried red chilis, you can also substitute red chili flakes. (Start with 1/2 teaspoon. Add more to boost the spice, or omit altogether for a milder dish.)
- Brown the tofu: Heat 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or other vegetable oil) in a nonstick wok (preferred) or skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, carefully add the marinated tofu (it may splatter a little). Pan-fry for 3-4 minutes on the first side without touching, until golden-brown. Then flip and repeat a few more times until the tofu pieces are evenly browned. This usually takes about 10-12 minutes in total. Remove the tofu to a plate and set aside.
- Stir-fry aromatics: If needed, add another 1 tablespoon of oil to the same pan. Add dried red chili peppers (if using), garlic, ginger, the white portions of the green onions, and the peanuts. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, until the green onions are becoming translucent.
- Add veggies and tofu: Add in the chopped red bell pepper, zucchini, and water chestnuts. Stir-fry for another 3-4 minutes, or until the peppers and zucchini are as tender as you like. Then add back in the pan-fried tofu and heat for another minute or so.
- Add sauce: Reduce the heat to medium. Give the sauce a quick whisk to redistribute the cornstarch, then pour it in. It should begin to bubble immediately. Stir constantly for another 1-2 minutes until the sauce thickens to your preference. If you want to thin the sauce out slightly, just stir in an extra splash of water or veggie broth. Fold in the reserved green parts of the green onion and serve.
Notes
- Balsamic vinegar/rice vinegar: You won’t find these in traditional/authentic kung pao recipes (Chinese black vinegar and shaoxing wine are more commonly used). However, this recipe is designed for the average home cook who may not have access to specialty ingredients. I have found that this combination delivers a taste that is very similar to Chinese takeout. If you have black vinegar or shaoxing, feel free to use those instead!
- Dried red chili peppers: If you don’t have access to an Asian market, check the Hispanic section at your usual grocery store. You can often find dried peppers there. You can use arbol chili peppers. If you can’t find any, you can substitute dried red chili flakes (use as many as your spice preference allows), or you can skip dried chilis altogether and lean on the chili paste in the recipe for your spice.
- Stir fry veggies: Feel free to substitute other types of stir fry veg for the red bell peppers and zucchini. You can try broccoli, baby bok choy, mushrooms, etc.
- Gluten-free: Use tamari or gluten-free soy sauce in both the marinade and the sauce.
