Mapo Tofu
Mápó dòufu (麻婆豆腐), also romanized as mapo tofu, is a classic spicy tofu and meat dish from the Szechuan province of China. It is a very flavourful, easy-to-prepare, and spicy dish.
- Time
- 30 minutes
- Servings
- 2
Ingredients
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 small piece of ginger, minced (about 2 tsp)
- 1–2 tsp crushed dried chile pepper
- 200 g (7 oz) minced beef, or pork
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 500 g (1 lb) silken tofu, cubed
- 2 tbsp chili bean paste (la doubanjiang)
- 1 tbsp Szechuan pepper, roasted and ground
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice wine
- 3–4 green onions, cut into 2 cm (1 inch) pieces
- 2–3 mushrooms (tree ears preferred; optional)
Method
- If using dried mushrooms, soak them in hot water for 10 minutes while preparing the rest of the ingredients, then slice before adding later.
- Sauté onion with ginger and crushed chili.
- Add minced meat and garlic, and fry until brown.
- Mix in other ingredients (including sliced mushrooms), lower heat, and simmer for 5–10 minutes.
- Serve over steamed jasmine rice.
Notes
- Some extra chili pepper can be substituted for Szechuan pepper, but the taste and feeling will be different. Szechuan pepper has a numbing sensation, not heat.
- A little ground coriander and cumin is very nice in this dish, especially if you cannot find Szechuan pepper easily.
- A red bell pepper, a tomato, and fresh coriander leaves are all welcome additions, though not traditional.
- The meal is just as good with whole beans instead of tofu.
- A vegan/vegetarian version of this meal can be made by substituting the meat with textured vegetable protein (TVP) or ground tofu (e.g. Shiok Food's Vegetarian Ma Po Tofu)