Kung Pao Tofu with Broccoli

One of the most famous Chinese dishes in western culture is now in our recipe book. We switched it up a bit to make an incredibly nourishing and delicious vegan-friendly meal: Kung Pao Tofu with Broccoli.

Kung Pao is a typical Chinese dish from the Szechuan province. It's been around for a long long time and it has become quite popular all over the world. If you go to a Chinese restaurant or food stand anywhere in the world, you will most likely find this dish being served.  

The recipe is usually made with chicken and sometimes it can be hard to find a restaurant that will serve a vegan version or accommodate for it. It is sad because I usually find myself drooling over my friends's meal whenever they order it. The aromas and the bright colours on the plate are so inviting. 

Fortunately, Kung Pao is one of the easiest recipes you can come across. You only need a bunch of veggies, crunchy peanuts, and a super tasty sauce. For our Kung Pao Tofu with Broccoli, we added a few elements but it is still a recipe you can quickly put together that everyone will love.

The sauce in the original recipe is quite spicy. In China they use Sichuan peppercorns and Sichuan chilli peppers to make it. Both of these chillies are so incredibly spicy that most western restaurants don't use both. They might use one or the other, or they'll use a less spicy kind of pepper instead.  

Spicy food always gets me so I had to take a completely different approach with the chillies. I made the sauce with sriracha sauce instead of pepper. I still wanted a little bit of a kick but with fresh chillies you never really know what you'll get. Even how a chillie is handled can change how spicy it will be. 

I don't really like these kind of surprises. I played it safe since I know how much sriracha I can handle. This little hack allows you to regulate the spice level a lot better. And it is easy to add a bit more if you're feeling adventurous or if you have someone at the table who can actually handle spicy food.

I made this Kung Pao Tofu with Broccoli and a side of rice to make it a complete meal. Broccoli is incredibly nutritious and it has very few calories. So throwing a side of this hearty and tasty veggie helps us pack on nutrients and fill our bellies.  

I steam the broccoli florets for 4-5 minutes so they keep their vibrant colour and all their nutrients. We want to reap all the health benefits broccoli has to offer. Also, the consistency of broccoli is perfect when you steam for that long, it comes out perfectly crunchy! 

Kung Pao Tofu with Broccoli takes only 30 minutes to make and it has about 27g of protein. It is incredibly nourishing and super flavourful. You and your family will love it so much you won't want to visit another Chinese restaurant ever again!