Mapo Tofu
A classic Sichuan dish featuring silken tofu and minced pork as the main ingredients, seasoned with fermented broad bean paste for a spicy, numbing, and aromatic flavor.
Ingredients
Tender tofu (cut into 3-fen diagonal cubes, blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes to remove gypsum flavor, drained)
200 g
Ground beef or ground pork
65 g
Minced scallion
4 g
Chili oil
4 g
Fermented black beans
10 g
Sichuan peppercorn powder
to taste
Minced garlic
to taste
Soy sauce
to taste
Chili powder
to taste
Fine salt
to taste
Chicken broth
130 g
Water chestnut starch (for thickening the sauce)
to taste
Yellow rice wine
to taste
Instructions
1
Prepare the tofu
First, cut the tender tofu into 3-fen diagonal cubes, blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes to remove the gypsum flavor, then drain well.
2
Stir-fry and simmer
In a separate wok over high heat, melt lard, then stir-fry the ground meat with bean paste. Add chili powder, soy sauce, fermented black beans, chili oil, yellow rice wine, salt, and minced garlic, stir-fry until the flavors are well combined. Add the prepared tofu and 100 g of chicken broth, simmer over low heat until the sauce thickens. Stir in water chestnut starch to thicken the sauce further, then add minced scallion, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and MSG, and it is ready.
