I don’t know where you guys are in the world or what you’re options are for takeout but here in Romania, the answer is NONE. As in no options whatsoever and that goes double if you’re vegan. There are a couple of options at a nearby sushi joint and this restaurant that is both Italian and Asian, both of which are just plain mediocre.
Why am I telling you all of this? Not just for sympathy, that’s for sure.
Just kiddin’, you can sympathize if you want but you don’t need to since we just ate some pretty kick ass General Tso’s vegan chicken…or soy strips. Call it what you want but this was a delicious way to enjoy an old childhood favorite without the suffering.
Or the strangers cooking our food right now.
I’m not gonna lie to you here, the ingredients list on this dish is pretty damn extensive, but that doesn’t make it difficult to make. Lots of Asian dishes require a variety of salty-sweet-bitter-tangy-spicy combinations that contribute to the deliciousness that is Asian cuisine.
For this vegan General Tso’s recipe, I’m just gonna paste the ingredients list straight from Cronometer because I already had to enter there and that was traumatic enough. Okay, it wasn’t all that bad but I’m feeling lazy and I need to get back to writing so bear with me. Please.
The first thing you need to do is “marinate” the soy curls once you’ve rehydrated them, which means you should make the sauce first. That means adding half the garlic & ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, sambal, mirin and starch into a bowl. Whisk it and add the soy curls to it. Set aside.
Rinse, dry & chop whatever vegetables you want for this vegan Asian recipe. I went with basic veggies like carrots, bell pepper, onion, mushrooms and a few florets of unused broccoli but you can add zucchini or squash or whatever veggies your little vegan heart desires.
I went oil free for this recipe but you can use it if you like and if you do, add the oil, ginger and garlic first. Otherwise add everything but the garlic into the skillet and cook until the veggies start to brown. Pick the marinated soy strips from the sauce and toss into the pan. Cook until crispy around the edges, but you can always pop them into the air fryer instead.
Pour the rest of the sauce over the veggies until its nice and thick. Serve over a bed of rice, and no tipping required!
I decided not to put the vegan strips in the air fryer this time because I was curious to see how the marinade worked and let me tell ya, it was incredible! Straight through to the center you could taste the grated ginger & garlic, the soy sauce and even the mirin. This was the first time I’ve had any version of General Tso’s in a good long while and, not to pat myself on the back, but I did a damn good job.
“Two thumbs up!” ~ The Husband
If you want this dish more saucy, just add more water with the soy sauce and if you want it thicker, increase the water-cornstarch ratio. And feel free to substitute whatever you want instead of soy strips. Chickpeas or mushrooms will work well, or any other vegan option you prefer.
The Spicy Spatula 
Whatcha think?