Vegan Kung Pao Chicken with Soy Curls

Vegan kung pao chicken in a bowl ready to be eaten.

5 from 8 votes

Vegan Kung Pao Chicken with Soy Curls

Utterly addictive Kunk Pao Chicken but made vegan! Use soy curls or tofu for a dish that you and your family will beg for every week!

Prep Time15

Cook Time5

Total Time20

Course: main

Cuisine: Chinese, Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 268kcal

Author: Louise-Claire Cayzer

Equipment

Ingredients

For the main stir fry

110 g soy curls or tofu pieces
5 green onions scallions/spring onions
15 whole dried chillies or as many as you like.
½ teaspoon Szechuan Peppercorns or more, up to 2 teaspoon if you like hotter!
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
75 g roasted peanuts or cashews

For the Soy Curl marinade

1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1 teaspoon potato starch
2 tablespoon water

For the Kung Pao Sauce

2 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoon Chinkiang Vinegar
2 tablespoon caster sugar
2 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon potato starch

Metric - American

Instructions

Mix together the marinade ingredients and add the soy curls. Mix thoroughly and leave until soft (about 5 minutes)
1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, 1 teaspoon potato starch , 2 tablespoon water, 110 g soy curls
Finely chop the garlic and grate the ginger.
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, 4 cloves garlic
Chop the green onions into small pieces.
5 green onions
De-seed the dried chilies by halving the chilies and shaking out the seeds.
15 whole dried chillies
Mix together all the ingredients for the Kung Pao Sauce. Measure out the nuts.
2 tablespoon water, 3 tablespoon Chinkiang Vinegar, 2 tablespoon caster sugar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon potato starch, 2 tablespoon soy sauce
Get everything to hand, as the next part of the recipe is fast!
Put your wok onto a high heat and pour in the oil, slicking it around the edges of the wok.
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
Add the marinated soy curls and cook for a minute or so until they start to brown.
110 g soy curls
Add the ginger, garlic, peppercorns and nuts and cook for a minute.
4 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, 75 g roasted peanuts, ½ teaspoon Szechuan Peppercorns
Add the sauce and green onions and toss for a minute
5 green onions
Serve immediately over rice.

Video

Notes

TIPS for making this recipe:

Hint: This recipe relies on prep work. Have everything chopped, marinated and measured out, as the cooking process is very quick!
Be sure to marinate the soy curls in the marinade and do not soak them first. You want them full of flavour, not water!
Make sure that all the soy curls are really soaked in the marinade and not hard. They only take a few minutes to absorb the flavours, but it's an important step.

STORAGE:

Amazingly, despite this dish being a wok-fried dish, it tastes pretty good for up to 3 days. Just keep it in an air tight container and re-heat in a searing hot pan.

I do not recommend you freeze this recipe, it won't ruin it, but it won't taste as good frozen then thawed then re-heated.

Nutrition