Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) is the key ingredient in this Vegan Kung Pao — an excellent plant-based substitute for chicken in the classic Chinese-style dish.
TVP soaks up the sauce and seasonings brilliantly, and this version is ready in around 30 minutes, making it a perfect midweek fakeaway.
How to make Vegan Kung Pao?
Follow the step-by-step recipe below to make this Chinese-style Vegan Kung Pao at home. Read the notes and tips after the recipe card to get the best results.
📖 Step by Step Recipe
Vegan Kung Pao
Luke and Kay – Flawless Food
TVP (also called textured soy protein or soya chunks) is high in protein and absorbs sauces well, making it an excellent meat substitute.
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Equipment
Ingredients
Textured Vegetable Protein mix
- 125 grams (2 cups) Textured Vegetable Protein chunks
- 360 ml (1 ¾ cups) Vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon Light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon Cornflour
Kung Pao Sauce
- 2 tablespoon Dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon Ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon Cornflour
- 100 ml (½ cup) Vegetable stock
- 5 tablespoon Light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon Dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon Rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or Mirin or dry white wine
- 2 teaspoon Hoisin sauce
Stir Fry
- 2 tablespoon Toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon Garlic puree (about 3 cloves)
- 2 teaspoon Chilli puree (about 2 red chillies)
- 1 Red pepper chopped into 2cm squares
- 1 Green pepper chopped into 2cm squares
- 4 Spring onions (green onions) chopped
- 2 tablespoon Cashew nuts handful
Instructions
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Soak the TVP in vegetable stock for 10 minutes to rehydrate.
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While the TVP soaks, chop the peppers and spring onions and mix the Kung Pao sauce ingredients in a bowl.
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Combine the sauce ingredients and set aside.
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Drain and coat the rehydrated TVP with cornflour, bicarbonate of soda and 1 tablespoon light soy sauce. Set aside.
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Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a wok or large pan over medium heat. Fry the coated TVP for about 5 minutes until lightly browned, then remove and set aside.
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Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. Stir in garlic puree, chilli puree and the chopped peppers and fry on high for 1 minute.
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Pour in the prepared Kung Pao sauce, bring to a boil, then return the TVP to the pan and stir to combine.
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Stir for 3 minutes, then add spring onions and cashew nuts and stir for a further 2 minutes. Serve with rice and enjoy.
Video
Nutrition
What is Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)?
Textured Vegetable Protein chunks (also called soya chunks) are made from 100% soybeans. They’re sold dried, making them a convenient pantry staple and an effective meat substitute for vegetarian and vegan dishes.
A typical 500g bag is inexpensive and stretches a long way. For this recipe we used 125g TVP to serve four people — economical and high in plant protein.
This was our first time using TVP and we’ll definitely use it again, including trying the minced variety as a substitute for ground meat.
How to use Textured Vegetable Protein?
TVP is sold dried and must be rehydrated before cooking. A good rule of thumb is about 30g dry TVP per portion, rehydrated with roughly 90ml vegetable stock. For this recipe we used 125g TVP with about 350–360ml stock for four people.
Allow the TVP to soak for about 10 minutes — enough time to chop the vegetables and prepare the sauce. For the vegetables, cut peppers into 2cm squares and slice spring onions into 1cm pieces.
How to make Vegan-friendly Kung Pao sauce?
To make a vegan Kung Pao sauce, whisk together dark brown sugar, ground ginger, cornflour, rice wine (or mirin / dry white wine), rice vinegar, light and dark soy sauce, vegetable stock and hoisin sauce. Most hoisin sauces are vegan but check the label to be sure there’s no fish ingredient.
Set the sauce aside until needed.
Coating the rehydrated TVP with cornflour and a small amount of bicarbonate of soda before frying helps it brown and keeps the interior tender. It also adds body to the sauce when everything is combined.
Fry the TVP in sesame oil for about 5 minutes until it’s lightly browned, then remove it from the pan. Add more oil if needed, then fry garlic, chilli and peppers on high for 1 minute, add the sauce and bring to the boil.
Return the TVP to the pan, stir for 3 minutes, then add spring onions and cashew nuts and cook for a final 2 minutes.
Serve the Vegan Kung Pao with plain white rice, jasmine sticky rice or noodles. If you prefer less heat, reduce or omit the chilli.
Vegan Kung Pao in 30 minutes
This dish is a comforting, flavourful fakeaway. We tested it on family members who guessed it was chicken — a great sign that TVP works well in classic recipes. Non-vegans can easily swap TVP for prawns, chicken or beef if preferred.
If you make this, we’d love to hear how it turned out — leave a comment or share a photo on social media with the tag mentioned above.
