Chinese Sichuan Mapo Tofu
Mapo Tofu is a quick Chinese Sichuan dinner recipe to make at home. This is an easy and flavorful way to prepare tofu, with minced meat and an aromatic red sauce.
Servings: 4 - 6 people
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 3 tablespoon dou ban jiang (red fermented broad bean paste)*
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon douchi (salted black bean)**
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 ½ C water or chicken broth, divided
For the dish:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 150 g (⅓ lb) lean ground pork
- 1 large white onion, diced
- 1 package medium firm tofu, cut into cubes
- 1 teaspoon chili oil (optional, if you like more spice, add more, if not, omit)
- ¼ tsp ground Sichuan peppercorn (optional)
- chopped green onions (for garnish)
Instructions
For the sauce:
- In a small bowl, mix together the dou ban jiang (red broad bean paste), sugar, and douchi (salted black bean). Set aside.
- In another small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon cornstarch and ½ C water or chicken broth. Mix until the cornstarch is dissolved.
For the dish:
- Heat a large wok over high heat. Add in 1 tablespoon oil. Add in the ground pork and using a spatula, break it up into small pieces. Fry for about 2 minutes. Add in the diced onion and fry with the pork until fragrant, about another 3-4 minutes.
- Next, add the cubed tofu to the pork mixture and stir gently to mix.
- Add the remaining 1 C of water/chicken broth, along with the dou ban jiang sauce mixture and stir to coat the pork and tofu.
- Bring the mixture up to a boil, and then add in the cornstarch slurry. The sauce will thicken and coat all of the pork, tofu and onion.
- Add in chili oil and ground Sichuan peppercorn, if you wish.
- When the mapo tofu comes to a simmer, remove it from heat and garnish with chopped green onions.
- Serve hot over steamed rice.
Notes
* Chili paste or chili oil can be substituted for dou ban jiang in a pinch.
** Douchi is optional, omit if can’t be found.