Kung pao tofu (宫爆豆腐)

Serves 4

Adapted from My Darling Vegan

Last year for hubby's birthday we were out in Chinatown and ate at a Chinese restaurant (very unusual choice for me). It was Mr Meng's Chongqing Gourmet in the Haymarket food court and we wanted to order something new that wasn't spicy so we decided to try Kung Pao chicken, a famous dish that I had heard of but never tried. It was surprisingly delicious as I had previously thought this was more of a westernised 'Chinese' dish. I think the sweetness of the sauce and the crunchy cashews was enough to win over our little one so we decided to make a vegetarian version.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

500 g tofu (we prefer a medium-firm silken tofu)

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp mirin

2 Tbsp sesame oil

2 tsp cornstarch

1 eggplant

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 red capsicum

3 stems shallots

1/2 cup roasted cashews

Kung pao sauce

1/3 cup vegetable broth

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tbsp mirin

1/2 Tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp cornstarch

Method

1. Chop the tofu into 2 centimetre cubes. Combine the soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil and cornstarch in a large bowl until the cornstarch is dissolved. Place the tofu into the bowl and gently mix then allow it to marinate for 10 minutes.

2. Whisk together the ingredients for the Kung Pao sauce and set aside.

3. Peel the skin from the eggplant and dice into 1 centimetre cubes. Pan fry in oil until soft, or even better, use the air-fryer at 180C for about 10 minutes, giving it a toss after 5 minutes.

Air-fryer cooked eggplant

4. Heat a large wok on medium heat. Add in a tablespoon of oil then add in the tofu, along with the extra marinade. Gently cook for 5 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken. Remove and set aside. 

5. Finely dice the ginger, garlic and shallots. Dice the capsicum and chop the broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Add in half a tablespoon of oil, then add in the ginger, garlic, shallots and capsicum and sauté for 5 minutes until soft. Meanwhile, in a separate pot, par-boil the broccoli for 3 minutes, drain and then add into the wok.

6. Add in the sauce and cook for a few minutes until the sauce starts to thicken. Add in the tofu and cook for a few more minutes before adding in the cashews. Turn off the heat and stir through. Serve warm with rice.