I had tofu for the first time in 1997 at Vegetable Garden in Rockville, MD. I ordered the Kung Pao Tofu and was immediately hooked to both tofu and this dish. The sauce was luscious, spicy and packed with umami. We tried to recreate the sauce without much luck until recently. I think this is as close as it's going to get.
I also learned recently that in order to make tofu puffs I need to deep fry soft tofu as opposed to firm or silken tofu. And the brand of tofu seems to matter, so experiment with what you have available to find the brand that works for you. I have good luck with making puffed tofu with the varieties offered by my local Asian grocery store.
Ingredients for the sauce: 150g (or 3/4 cup) water or vegetable stock 50g (or 1/4 cup) Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce (or 30g soy sauce) 25g (or 1/8 cup) distilled white vinegar or rice vinegar 25g (or 1/8 cup) sesame oil 1 tablespoon corn starch 1 tablespoon of Sambal Oelek or other hot sauce 1 tablespoon minced ginger 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon sugar (sugar is necessary to balance the flavors) 1. Place ingredients for the sauce in a bowl or tall tumbler and mix thoroughly with a spoon or fork. 2. Sauté or fry 1 package of cubed (preferably soft or firm tofu, but not silken) and set aside. 2. Sauté broccoli, asparagus or your other favorite vegetables and then set aside. 3. Sauté 1/2 cup of peanuts. 4. Add the prepared tofu and vegetables. 5. Give the sauce another good mix to ensure that the corn starch hasn't clumped together or settled to the bottom. 6. Pour the sauce onto the vegetables and tofu and bring the heat to medium-high to thicken. 7. Serve over hot rice. Note: do not add salt as the Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce has plenty of it.