Vegan General Tso Tofu

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General Tso’s chicken is particularly popular in North America and consists of pieces of chicken in a thick, sweet, and aromatic sauce, often served with rice and stir-fried vegetables.

Instead of chicken, we use tofu, which is briefly marinated and fried. Smoked tofu is best, as its smoky aroma is reminiscent of meat. Make sure you use firm tofu so that it stays firm when you fry it.

The recipe is very quick and easy: you can have a meal on the table in half an hour. Because of the soy sauce, you don’t actually need any extra salt in the recipe. If you like it spicier, you can add a few drops of Sriracha sauce when serving.

The tofu version is also vegan. The broccoli can also be replaced with other fresh vegetables. A vegetable with a bit of bite, such as carrots, is a great contrast to the rice and tofu.

This recipe was inspired by the food blog Jessica in the Kitchen.

Recipe #

General Tso Tofu

35 minutes

2 portions

Ingredients #

For the tofu

• 200 g smoked tofu
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons corn starch
• 1 pinch of pepper
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil

For the General Tso sauce

• 2 cloves garlic
• 30 g ginger
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 50 ml soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon corn starch, mixed with 1 teaspoon water
• 1 pinch of chili powder
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

As a supplement:

• 120 g rice
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1/2 broccoli

Directions #

1. Cut the tofu into 1.5 cm cubes. Peel and chop the garlic. Place the tofu and garlic in a bowl with the soy sauce, corn starch, and pepper. Using a spoon, mix to coat the tofu with the sauce.
2. Prepare the rice as a side dish: Bring to the boil in a small saucepan with double the amount of water and a pinch of salt, then simmer over a low heat for about 15-20 minutes.
3. Fry the tofu in a pan with the sesame oil for about 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a bowl - we will only need it at the end.
4. Peel and chop the garlic and ginger for the sauce. Fry in the same pan with the rest of the sesame oil for about 3-5 minutes.
5. Add the soy sauce, sugar, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, corn starch, and chili powder to the garlic and ginger mixture. Dilute the sauce with about 100 ml water, then reduce a little.
6. Wash and chop the broccoli and add to the sauce. Simmer for about 3 minutes, then add the prepared tofu and sesame seeds to the sauce. Bring to the boil and serve with rice.

Carbon Footprint #

In total, two portions of General Tso tofu with rice have an estimated carbon footprint of 838 g.

This ranks it number 7 out of 56 recipes published on the blog so far in terms of estimated carbon footprint.

This means that it belongs to the quarter of recipes that have the lowest climate impact (i.e. top 25%). 🥰

Rice and broccoli are the most prominent ingredients in General Tso Tofu: rice accounts for just under 20% of the weight of the ingredients, but almost half of the carbon footprint. The carbon footprint of rice is mainly due to its cultivation: traditionally, rice terraces are submerged in water. This releases methane and, in some cases, nitrous oxide into the soil - both gases have a much greater impact on global warming than CO₂. Rice is a staple food for billions of people around the world. Given this scale, it is particularly important to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from rice cultivation, for example by changing cultivation methods (source). Broccoli, on the other hand, has a very good greenhouse gas balance: broccoli accounts for about a quarter of the weight of the ingredients, but only about 6% of the carbon footprint.

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