Original recipe!
Mapo Tofu (Sichuan Tofu and Ground Beef in Red Chile Sauce)
INGREDIENTS
1 14-oz. package firm tofu, drained and cut into 1″ cubes
Kosher salt, to taste
½ cup hong you (Sichuan red chile oil; from recipe, or use store-bought)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 6″ piece ginger, peeled and minced
6 oz. ground beef or pork
4 suan miao (Chinese chives, blossoms discarded) or scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
1 xiao mi la or red Thai chile, stemmed and minced
2 ½ tbsp. douban jiang (Chinese red chile bean paste)
1 tbsp. dou chi (Chinese fermented black soybeans)
1¼ cups chicken stock
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. light soy sauce
¼ cup cornstarch, mixed with 6 tbsp. water
¼ tsp. ground Sichuan pepper, for garnish
Steamed rice, for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Place tofu in a bowl with 3 cups boiling salted water; let sit 15 minutes. Drain and spread on paper towels to dry; set aside.
2. Heat oil in a 14″ flat-bottomed wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add beef; cook, stirring and breaking up meat, until browned, 4–6 minutes. Add chives, chiles, paste, and beans; cook, stirring, until chives are wilted, about 2 minutes. Add stock and tofu; bring to a boil, stirring gently, so as not to break up the tofu. Add sugar and soy; cook, stirring, until sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. While stirring, slowly add cornstarch mixture; cook until sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a dish and garnish with chives and pepper. Serve with rice.
Omnom Mapo Tofu
INGREDIENTS
1 14-oz. package medium tofu (soft, if you’re crazy, or soft is more like soft-medium), drained and cut 4 times each way for each half block.
1 2″ piece ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 lb ground beef or pork (pork, preferably.)
4 green onions, thinly sliced
4 tbsp. douban jiang (Chinese red chile bean paste)
2 tbsp. dou chi (Chinese fermented black soybeans)
1¼ cups chicken stock
1/2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tbsp. light soy sauce
Steamed rice, for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger; cook until fragrant. Add meat of choice; brown. Add green onions, paste, and beans; cook, stirring, until green onions are wilted, about 2 minutes. Add stock and tofu; bring to a boil, stirring gently, so as not to break up the tofu (Soft tofu, fold in gently, medium tofu, stir). Add sugar and soy; cook, stirring, until sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Simmer for as long as you can bear (~30 minutes is good, or you can do less, if you don’t mind your tofu tasting like tofu and not mapo-tofu) Slowly add cornstarch mixture; cook until sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes more. Serve with rice.
cook meat
drain
stir in garlic/ginger/black beans
add oil
add in bean paste
add in water
add in corn starch (prestir into cold water first)
add in tofu
(dark soy sauce/sugar to taste) optional
serve with white rice
Note: Use the sauce below from spicy king (apparently a winner of the 1999 american taste test). It’s really good! Loads of chili oil, sechuan pepper, and broad beans. All the essential taste elements of mapo tofu are in here. And best of all, it’s only $3.29, and available at BCS asian market. I used about 1.5 tablespoon for 1/2 lb meat, one package of tofu.I did find it necessary to add soy sauce and sugar per instructions on the jar itself to round out the flavors of everything.
