Sichuan in origin, mapo doufu consists of tofu cubes settled in a spicy sauce containing minced meat, traditionally beef or pork, and fermented black beans known as douchi. The dish is said to have been invented in a small restaurant called Chen Xingsheng in Chengdu back in 1862, while the name of the dish comes from the lady cook who created it.
Namely, the word mapo is an abbreviation which can be translated as pockermarked grandma, referring to the woman’s appearance. The numbing spiciness and hotness of the dish come from Sichuan peppercorns, chili oil, and doubanjiang, a broad bean paste, whereas additional ingredients include wine rice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, a garnish of chopped green onions, and optionally, starch, which is used as a thickener.
Chinese Mapo Tofu | (麻婆豆腐 – Má Pó Dòufu)
Course: MainCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcal1
hour10
minutesSichuan in origin, mapo doufu consists of tofu cubes settled in a spicy sauce containing minced meat, traditionally beef or pork, and fermented black beans known as douchi. The dish is said to have been invented in a small restaurant called Chen Xingsheng in Chengdu back in 1862, while the name of the dish comes from the lady cook who created it.
Ingredients
Soft Tofu, 230g.
Sichuan Peppercorns, ½ Tablespoon
Minced Pork, 35g.
Garlic gloves, 2-3. Minced.
Sichuan Chili Bean Paste, 1.5 TBSP
Chili/cayenne pepper powder, 0.25TSP to 2 TSP
”Stock”, ¾ cup
Caiziyou
1 tsp Shaoxin Wine.
Light Soy Sauce, 1 tsp.
Sugar, 1 tsp.
Dark Chinese Vinegar, ½ tsp
Cornstarch, 1 tsp
Sesame Oil, 1 tsp
Directions
- Toast and grind your Sichuan peppercorns.
- Cut and simmer your tofu. Cut your tofu into small cubes, about a half inch. Then toss your tofu cubes in a pot of salted water that’s barely simmering.
- Simmer that for 2-3 minutes, then take the pot off the heat but continue to soak the tofu til we’re ready to use it.
- Fry your mince.
- Fry your chili bean paste. Add your chili bean paste in with your mince, frying on medium heat.
- Fry your minced garlic and your chili powder. Add these ingredients and fry it for about a minute.
- Add the stock, season, and start to simmer. Add in your stock (or “stock” in our case), the soy sauce, the Shaoxing cooking wine (料酒), and the sugar. Taste it – it should feel slightly undersalted at this juncture. Allow it to simmer for a couple minutes before we add in the tofu.
- Drain your tofu, then add it to your pot. Make sure you’re not getting any extra water in there.
- Let the tofu simmer in the liquid as it’s reducing. Bring the heat back up to medium-high to get a hefty simmer going on (basically a small boil). Stir the tofu by gently pushing it back and forth with your spatula. At about the 3 minute mark, the liquid should start to be boiling away rapidly and starting to resemble a thin sauce. For ours, we timed it to be 3 and a half minutes in this step.
- Season the sauce, then thicken it up with your slurry.
- Also add in that half teaspoon of dark vinegar, stir and cook for about 30 seconds. Hit it with your slurry (1tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 TBSP water) to thicken, and turn off the heat.
- Stir in some sesame oil, then put in a plate and garnish. Make sure you get all that red-oil-deliciousness out from the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle some green onion slices (or cilantro) for maximum prettiness.
