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My General Tso’s Tempeh recipe is sure to satisfy your takeaway cravings!
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Also, Thank you Laura from GlutenfreePantry for the Liebster award!
Some other versions to help use Tempeh to sub meat.. Try the Tempeh Seekh Kebab patty, its a long recipe, but with all the spices and crumbled tempeh, there is no beany taste or texture! Or Try some of the Indian curries like Kadhai Tempeh and Cauliflower.
General Tso's Tempeh

Ingredients
- 3/4 cup of cubed Tempeh, 4 oz
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon orange juice, I used freshly squeezed Satsuma juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon raw sugar
- 1 teaspoon of oil
- 2 garlic cloves , chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce/tamari
- 2 teaspoon raw sugar
- 2 teaspoons orange juice
- 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes , or Sriracha to taste
- 1 teaspoon white wine , or rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sherry, optional
- 2-3 teaspoons vegan hoisin sauce to taste, I used just about 2 tsp
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch mixed in 1/3 to 1/2 cup of water, depending on your preference of quantity and consistency of sauce.
Instructions
- In a deep medium pan, add the tempeh, water, soy sauce, orange juice, ginger powder, garlic powder and sugar
- Mix well and cook covered on low heat, until all liquid is absorbed(12-15 minutes).You can also marinate the tempeh in the mix for half an hour before cooking.
- In another medium pan, add 1 teaspoon of oil and heat on medium heat.
- Add the cooked tempeh and cook on medium heat for 2 minutes until some sides are brown/crisp.
- Add garlic cloves, ginger and cook for half a minute.
- Add the following; soy sauce, sugar, orange juice, chilli flakes, white wine, sherry, hoisin, sesame oil and cornstarch
- Mix well to coat and cook on low-medium heat until the sauce thickens(5-7 minutes). Adjust spice and Sauces if needed to taste.(depends on the sauce brands, each has different flavor depth)
- Serve hot with a cup of white or brown rice, topped with chopped green onions/scallions and a slice of mandarin orange.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.













The flavor of this dish is amazing! Cooking it was a bit of an adventure because I wanted to use two 8 oz packages of tempeh. I steamed it first, and maybe that’s why it didn’t absorb the liquid. It could be that I used way too much water. I’m blaming the heat wave for all of my mishaps. But I find the structure of your recipes is so solid that I understood the tempeh had to be cooked before being transferred to the pan, where it crisped up beautifully. I bought hoisin sauce, and I used extra garlic and ginger. I didn’t bother with veggies, but I will next time. Really excited to have this recipe and will make it often. Thank you!
Yay, so glad it worked out!
Hi Richa. For cooking the tempeh, should the heat be low all the time, or do you bring the heat to a boil, then lower?
You can do either. Bringing to boil over medium will speed it up a bit.