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My General Tso’s Tempeh recipe is sure to satisfy your takeaway cravings!

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This is non fried version of the General Tsos saucy Tempeh with a citrusy twist. Add some blanched Broccoli or bok choy to it for a bigger portion and some greens. You know who reads my blog on her Iphone these days? My mom! She has one from her visit here in october and she is adept at all things I- … Ipad, Iphone. She reads the blog and gets her own creative ideas and makes things.. She saw my Naan post and made some with baking powder, yogurt and whole wheat flour and surprised Dad!

 
 
I usually either marinate the tempeh for a few hours or cook it in broth, for a more flavorful result. Tempeh and soy sauce or other sauces can have gluten. Use glutenfree version to make it gf. You can use Tofu or bean patty cubes instead of Tempeh.
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

5 from 4 votes
By: Richa
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Servings: 1 serving
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
My General Tso's Tempeh recipe is sure to satisfy your takeaway cravings! 
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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

You can add blanched/steamed broccoli to the pan once the tempeh is browned and continue with the rest of the steps. Other veggies that can be added.. bok choy, carrots. I was out of broccoli, since hubbs wanted the pickle spice Broccoli curry day before:)
The recipe can be easily doubled or tripled, add red pepper flakes to taste and you might need more cornstarch to thicken the sauce.
Nutritional values are based on one serving

Nutrition

Calories: 432kcal, Carbohydrates: 42g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 502mg, Potassium: 512mg, Sugar: 16g, Vitamin A: 295IU, Vitamin C: 17.4mg, Calcium: 149mg, Iron: 3.9mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!
 
 
This year, lets reduce our plastic dependence. Reuse, Reduce and Recycle. 85% of consumer plastic waste ends up in Landfills or elsewhere in the US. A good amount of that ends up in the Oceans. Over 7 million tons of plastic in the Pacific, spanning an area twice the size of texas, destroying our oceans and harming our food chains. Read more here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch

 

About Richa

Hi, I'm Richa! I create flavorful plant based recipes that are inspired by my Indian upbringing, including many gluten-free, soy-free, and oil-free options.

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5 from 4 votes

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35 Comments

  1. Nicole C says:

    5 stars
    Oh my word, this was amazing! The perfect balance of spicy and sweet. I added a head of bok choy. I almost wish I hadn’t steamed it, so it would have been nice and crunchy. There were a lot of ingredients to this but it was really quite easy. Definitely going to be adding this into my regular rotation.

    1. Vegan Richa Support says:

      Awesome to hear, thank you for the positive review! Bok choy can be tricky for sure!

  2. Lauren says:

    5 stars
    Made this tonight, and it was so good! My tempeh came in 6 ounce packages so I used two and tripled everything else in the recipe. I sautéed up some bok choy, broccoli and shredded carrots. The tempeh took about a half hour to soak up, just fyi. This was sooo good. My 5 year old LOVED it!

    1. Vegan Richa Support says:

      thank you. wow – I’m glad that he loved it

  3. Diandra says:

    5 stars
    I made this for dinner tonight and it’s so tasty! Really recommend! Easy and quick.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Many Chinese dishes are very oily, heavy, and are focused on flavor. I personally like the taste of tempeh, so this recipe was perfect for me! I didn’t have any hoisin sauce or ginger, but I used a miso ginger paste. Since I doubled the recipe (for 8oz of tempeh), I used a whole garlic bulb (I really like garlic!). I added less than a half cup of water and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. The result? A delicious, flavorful tempeh stir fry! The sauce was thick like the Chinese dishes I would order at restaurants and the flavor was not overbearing. It was so delicious, thank you for this recipe! I served my tempeh over black lentils and steamed vegetables! Yum!

    1. Richa says:

      Thank you for trying it out and liking it!.. I like mild flavors and less oily chinese food too!

  5. Richa says:

    Thank you for trying it out Andrew and the feedback.. I corrected the water content for the sauce.
    It is a bit different that the real gen tsos. a less oil and thinner sauce version!

  6. Andrew Nixon says:

    Turned out really good, although not necessarily what I would describe as the typical “General Tso’s”… This was less sticky and sweet. But good. Also, I did have to add more cornstarch, and seeing that the sauce called for so much water, I scaled that back by about half. All in all, very successfully tasty, though.

  7. Sonnet says:

    I love this! I just pinned it on Pinterest so I’ll remember to make it! 🙂

  8. Shannon says:

    Richa, you inspire me to cook more! Your dinners always sound so wonderful

  9. Richa says:

    Thank you Misty, CrazyEarthMama!

    Thanks for trying it out Jeff and thank you the feedback. My tastes are a bit milder..I am glad you adjusted the sauces and made it your own!