I love all things Chinese food, but had never tried Kung Pao anything before. Mainly because I am a picky (ie. wussy) eater and I don’t like trying new things, especially if they are supposed to be super-spicy. I want to enjoy eating my food, not drowning my mouth in ice-cold water. But I had bought a new sauce at Whole Foods and decided it was time to bite the spicy bullet and make some vegan and gluten-free Kung Pao Roasted Veggies and Tofu.

The pao of this meal is in the sauce. The ready-made Szechuan sauce that is. I had a coupon for the brand and wanted to get some new sauces into rotation and decided to try it. Just dipping my finger into the sauce and tasting it, it’s spicy. Not overbearing, but it’s got a kick to it. I looked for a good kung pao recipe online and there were so many different ones that I just decided to add my fave flavors to the sauce and added a little extra kick with some red pepper flakes. I also decided to try Nasoyas semi-new Tofu Baked. It comes already baked/prepared so you don’t have to do anything to it, just toss into your meal. It is super convenient but I like adding stuff to my tofu and sauteing until super-crispy (ie. almost burned), but it pared perfectly with this meal. I also tried another new-to-me product. Explore Asia all-bean noodles. I had coupons for this product too, a couple of coupons actually and bought three different noodles/types. This was by far my favorite and I think it has to do with the size of the noodle. I tried the linguine and ooh, the texture was all wrong. It was super gummy tasting. I don’t usually have texture issues when eating but it was all wrong. The spaghetti noodle though is awesome, and all the types are full of protein and gluten-free. The perfect addition to any pasta family.

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Start by slicing all veggies and dumping on two parchment covered baking sheets. Sprinkle oil and spices evenly over both trays then mixing with clean hands. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, stopping in the middle to mix. After mixing put a pot on to boil for the noodles, just follow the package directions. In another pot add chopped green onions and minced garlic with about a 1/4 cup veg broth; saute until softened then add rest of sauce ingredients. Mix and add more broth as needed to loosen it up. Slice baked tofu into small slices and set aside. Once veggies are done take out of oven. You can either mix everything together in a huge pot, or like me portion out the noodles then add the veggies and tofu on top then pour the sauce over everything. It is a super simple recipe and comes together fast. Enjoy!

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Kung Pao Roasted Veggies and Tofu,

Roasted Veggies
2 Bags Frozen Cauliflower, defrosted
6 Carrots, sliced
1 Green Pepper, sliced
1 Small Head Cabbage, sliced
2 Pkg Cremini Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 Tbsp Ground Ginger
1/2 Tbsp Black Pepper
1/2 Tbsp Garlic Powder

Sauce
2 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1/4 C San-J Gluten-Free Tamari
1/4 C San-J Gluten-Free Szechuan Sauce
2 Tsp Ground Ginger
1/4 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
6 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Bunch Green Onions, chopped
2 Tbsp Splenda
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
Vegetable Broth, as needed

1 Pkg Nasoya Sesame Ginger Baked Tofu
1 Pkg Explore Asia Soybean Spaghetti

1. Set oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Slice all veggies and lay on baking sheet. Sprinkle olive oil over both trays then sprinkle spices evenly over both trays.
3. Use your clean hands to mix veggies so everything is coated.
4. Bake for 45 minutes, stopping in the middle to mix veg.
5. After the veggies are mixed set water to boil for noodles; follow package directions.
6. Add chopped green onions and minced garlic to a pot with about a 1/4 cup veg broth. Let saute until soft.
7. Add sauce ingredients with more broth as needed to loosen the sauce up.
8. Turn to low heat. Slice baked tofu into small slices.
9. Portion out noodles, then veggies and tofu, then pour sauce over top. Or mix everything together in a big ole pot.
10. Enjoy!