General Tso's Tofu

I got some great responses about what to do with my delicious block of tofu, and will certainly be filing the others away for later use. I decided to go with my friend Lynne's suggestion of General Tso's Tofu, taken from Grumpy's Honeybunch's blog.

From Grumpy's Honeybunch's blog. Doesn't it look incredibly delish?!

I absolutely love Asian food, and General Tso's chicken frequently makes our take out list, so I was immediately drawn to the idea of making my own version at home.

The recipe(for those following along at home):

General Tso's Tofu
adapted from La Table de Nana

Protien:
1 brick extra firm tofu
3-4 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Sauce:
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
3 tbsps Hoisin
3 Tablespoons white vinegar (I used rice vinegar per the suggestion of Mari)
3 Tablespoons Ketchup
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1/2 Cup water
1 Tablespoon Sesame oil
6-8 spring green onions, sliced (I went with 4)
3 Tbsps fresh ginger finely chopped (I didn't measure, I just cut a chunk, peeled and chopped)
Hot peper flakes(optional) (I used the dried whole chilies and broke them into pieces)

Squeeze tofu of excess water by placing between a thickness (I use about 3-4 thick paper towels folded about 3-4 times) of paper towels and sitting a heavy pan on top. Let sit 20-30 minutes.

While waiting for tofu to be squeezed dry, mix together the first 6 ingredients and set aside. (I added my chili peppers to the sauce mix before I sat it aside)

To prepare tofu for frying, slice into 1/2" slices, then cut each slice into thirds. Coat lightly with cornstarch and fry in a shallow frying pan with olive oil until browned and crispy. Remove from frying pan and set aside.

Wipe pan clean with paper towel and add sesame oil with onions and chopped ginger. Fry about 1 minute, until fragrant. Add sauce mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer about 2 minutes. Add tofu back to mixture, toss to coat. Serve garnished with green onion tops chopped.
 

While I have most of the ingredients, I'll be heading out in a bit to our local co-op to round off the list with hoisin sauce, ginger and green onions.

I'll report back later with how it went, as well as a run down of all the other yummy potluck meals!