This mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐) recipe is genuine and genuine: the spiciness, which is tongue-numbing, the rice is completely not optionally available, you’ll be able to’t eat only one-spoonful of mapo tofu that gives you they provide in eating places.
Since we revealed this recipe in March 2014, it has garnered many 5-star critiques from readers! As of June 2019, we retested and up to date the recipe with new pictures, clearer directions, a recipe video, and dietary data.
what’s mapo tofu?
Mapo tofu is a well-liked Chinese language dish from Sichuan province, the place spicy meals is king and the area’s signature spice, Sichuan peppercorn, offers dishes a novel “numbing” impact . it is virtually as if the sichuan peppercorns are there to not solely add their perfume and taste, but in addition to numb the tongue so it could actually take extra warmth.
The dish’s title roughly interprets to “grandma’s pockmarked tofu.” No matter its origin, mapo tofu has left Sichuan province and unfold all through the world. the dish has taken many kinds as eating places and takeaways have put their very own spin on it, typically reducing the spice ranges, including completely different greens, and reworking the dish into one thing else totally.
Conventional and genuine Sichuan mapo tofu is what we’re going for on this recipe. Spicy sauce coats easy cubes of silky tofu, flavorful chunks of floor pork, chives, and Sichuan (or Szechuan) peppercorns.
get that restaurant taste at residence
I do know in addition to the following foodie how laborious it may be to approximate restaurant favorites at residence, so when you’ve by no means tried one of our recipes, you could be pondering, “what quite a bit of poop from panda! is that this one other dish known as “genuine”?”
Not so my mates, we do not play in life’s works. if we are saying genuine, you higher be sure the pineapple buns change into genuine. plus, the backstory of this recipe says all of it.
it was the summer season after my first 12 months of faculty and i used to be spending it in beijing with my mother and father and sister. It was a scorching, smoggy day, which meant “wet day” actions that did not require venturing into the noxious Beijing air.
I used to be parked in my mother and father’ bed room, flipping by means of the channels of numerous historic dramas (you’ll be able to actually flip by means of ten channels in a row, and each time the display modifications, you will see actresses in conventional costume, combating again tears). eerily clear hd), Chinese language nature documentaries (run little deer, ruuuun!), and meaningless prolonged infomercials for the perfect Chinese language dried dates you will ever style, or your a refund assured (…or not).
Nonetheless, I used to be introduced out of my stupor when my restricted Chinese language vocabulary was in a position to detect that the most recent cooking present I would picked featured an expert chef explaining easy methods to make mapo tofu good. means.
for the following 2 minutes, my eyes had been glued to the display, my mind straining to determine what the hell he was saying. Proper after it was over, I scrambled to discover a pen and paper to write down down what I had seen and heard. after that and quite a bit of testing/inquiring with my household’s style buds, right here is the completed product!
adjusting the recipe
be at liberty to regulate this recipe to your individual preferences. as we labored to make this recipe as shut to what’s served in sichuan eating places in china and right here in ny, recipes might be deeply private and subsequently tailor-made to your liking.
That stated, whereas portions might be adjusted, some elements are non-negotiable, corresponding to Sichuan peppercorns and spicy bean sauce (doubanjiang).
mala market is a good useful resource for genuine and premium sichuan (and different chinese language) elements. They provide a pixian doubanjiang sourced and packaged for them in Sichuan, in addition to a brilliant premium 3-12 months-outdated pixian doubanjiang. additionally, you will discover premium sichuan peppercorns of their retailer.
mapo tofu recipe directions
(scroll right down to the recipe card for the complete checklist of elements!)
First, we toast the chiles. when you have do-it-yourself roasted chili oil, you’ll be able to skip this step. warmth your wok or small saucepan over low warmth. add ¼ cup oil and add the contemporary and dried peppers. stir often and warmth till aromatic, about 5 minutes, ensuring the peppers don’t burn. take away from warmth and reserve.
Warmth the remaining ¼ cup of oil in your wok over medium warmth. add the ginger. after 1 minute, add the garlic.
be aware: earlier, we included a step of including the bottom sichuan peppercorns on this step to infuse the oil. nevertheless, it resulted in blended outcomes for some folks, as it is simple to unintentionally burn floor peppercorns. we now suggest including it after including the pork. (Be aware that you need to use Sichuan pepper oil as a shortcut for this step.)
Fry for an additional minute, then increase the warmth to excessive and add the bottom pork. break up the meat and fry it till nicely cooked.
add the bottom sichuan peppercorns.
add the recent bean sauce to the combination…
and stir it nicely. you will note the colour change!
add ⅔ cups of the hen broth to the wok and stir. let this simmer for a minute or so.
whereas that is occurring, put together your tofu and in addition put ¼ cup of water in a small bowl together with your cornstarch and blend till nicely mixed.
add the cornstarch combination to your sauce and stir. let it bubble till the sauce begins to thicken. (if it will get too thick, pour in a bit of extra water or hen broth). For extra detailed data on the numerous methods to make use of cornstarch for genuine outcomes at residence with our recipes, take a look at our put up on easy methods to use cornstarch in Chinese language cooking.
then add the chili oil from earlier than, peppers and all! when you’re utilizing do-it-yourself chili oil, use solely the nonetheless oil, as you’ve got probably salted it and solely need the oil, not further salt.
stir the oil into the sauce and add the tofu. use your spatula to softly stir the tofu into the sauce. let every part prepare dinner for 3-5 minutes. add the sesame oil and sugar (if utilizing) together with the chives and stir till the chives are wilted.
serve with a closing sprinkle of sichuan pepper powder as a garnish if desired.
and your ma po tofu is prepared!
(when you laughed about that, we should always undoubtedly be mates.)
While you make this for family and friends, I assure they’re going to be amazed at how a lot this mapo tofu seems and tastes similar to your favourite Szechuan/Sichuan restaurant does. we certain did!
and you will be stunned how easy it truly is. the secret’s to arrange every part earlier than you begin cooking.
