General Tso

Another favorite chinese restaurant order, made over.    It disappeared too fast to take a picture, so next time we will both double the recipe and snap a picture quickly.    There's no getting around that this one is high in sodium, so either budget for it or reduce the higher sodium ingredients.


Ingredients:

1 pound extra firm tofu (organic, sprouted tofu)
1 pound bag frozen vegetables (asparagus stir fry mix or broccoli florets, etc).
1 teaspoon oil (optional)

8 dried red chilis or 1/4 tsp dried red chili flakes
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp minced ginger
3 scallions, white and green parts separated and thin sliced
1 tsp white sesame seeds (optional)

Sauce:
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tsp hoison sauce (or oyster)
2 tsp chili sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tablespoons sweetener (honey, date syrup, etc)


Rinse, drain the tofu then cut into cubes or thin slices.  Pan "fry" it or bake it until firm.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Cook the frozen vegetables (stove or microwave).   You can steam the equivalent amount of fresh vegetables, also.  We use frozen for the convenience and because fresh vegetables disappear too fast here.

Prepare the sauce:   1 a small bowl, stir together ingredients. 

In the tofu pan, add the dried chilis, garlic, ginger, and white scallion pieces and stir fry until fragrant, about 40 seconds.  Then, add the sauce and stir until thickened, about 1 minute.  Add the cooked tofu into the sauce and toss to coat.   

Serve the sauce over the broccoli, toss gently to coat the vegetables with the sauce and sprinkle the scallion greens and sesame seeds over the dish.    Serve this over cooked, brown rice or even over steamed greens.