General Tso’s tofu with ginger and sesame daikon
saturday kitchen recipe

General Tso’s tofu with ginger and sesame daikon

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Preparation time
less than 30 mins

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Cooking time
10 to 30 mins

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Serves
Serves 2

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Dietary
Vegetarian

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Saturday Kitchen Chefs - Ching He Huang

By Ching-He Huang
From Saturday Kitchen[row]

Ingredients

For the sauce

  • 1 heaped tsp yellow soybean paste
  • 2 tbsp tamari or low-sodium light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp clear rice vinegar or cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 2 tbsp golden syrup or agave syrup
  • 1 tbsp sriracha chilli sauce
  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

For the tofu

  • 80g/2¾oz cornflour
  • 400ml/14fl oz aquafaba (liquid drained from 2 x 400g/14oz tins chickpeas), half the chickpeas reserved
  • 2 pinches sea salt
  • 2 pinches ground white pepper
  • 400g/14oz firm tofu, drained and cut into 2x2cm/¾x¾in cubes
  • 300ml/10fl oz rapeseed oil, plus extra for frying
  • 80g/2¾oz roasted, salted peanuts, to garnish
  • 1 tsp black sesame seeds, to garnish

For the stir fry

  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 4 dried Sichuan chillies
  • 1 large red onion, cut into 1cm/½in pieces
  • 260g/9oz padron peppers, seeds removed and cut into 1.5cm/¾in pieces
  • 4 spring onions, cut into 2.5cm/1in pieces on the diagonal
  • 200g/7oz sprouting cauliflower

For the daikon

  • 1 daikon (white radish or mooli), trimmed, peeled and spiralised
  • 1 tbsp clear rice vinegar
  • 200g/7oz baby spinach leaves
  • 2 spring onions, finely sliced, to garnish
  • 1 tbsp mixed black and white sesame seeds, to garnish
  • 1 red chilli, finely chopped, to garnish

For the dressing

  • 1 tbsp grated fresh root ginger
  • 1 tbsp tahini
  • 2 tbsp tamari or low-sodium light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp clear rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp golden syrup

Method

  1. To make the sauce, whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

  2. To make the tofu, combine the cornflour and aquafaba in a small bowl to make the batter and season with the sea salt and white pepper. Place the tofu in a bowl, pour over the batter and leave for 2–3 minutes.

  3. Fill a deep saucepan with the rapeseed oil. Heat the oil to 180C or until a cube of bread turns golden brown when added for 15 seconds. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Using a pair of heatproof tongs, very gently add in the tofu pieces, one by one, and cook for about 6–7 minutes until golden brown. Carefully transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain any excess oil.

  4. To make the stir fry, place the wok over a high heat and, when it starts to smoke, add the rapeseed oil. Add the garlic, dried chillies and red onion and give it a good stir. Add the peppers and stir-fry for 1 minute. Pour in the sauce and cook until the sauce has reduced and has a slightly sticky consistency. Add the spring onions and cauliflower and toss well. Add the fried tofu pieces and gently mix well.

  5. Meanwhile, to make the daikon, place the spiralised daikon in a bowl. Cover with water, add the rice vinegar and leave for 15–20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

  6. To make the dressing, place all of the ingredients in a jar, put on the lid and shake well to combine.

  7. Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat, and add a dash of rapeseed oil to the pan. Fry the reserved chickpeas until crispy, then season and set aside on kitchen paper to drain.

  8. Place the baby spinach leaves in a serving bowl. Top with the daikon and then drizzle over the dressing. Scatter over the spring onions, sesame seeds and red chilli.

  9. To serve, transfer the tofu mixture to a serving plate, garnish with the peanuts and sprinkle over the black sesame seeds. Serve immediately with the ginger and sesame daikon.