Mapo tofu

To make it vegetarian, replace the ground meat with dried mushrooms. Soak dried shitake in water until they’re soft, and mince them. Save the liquid (mushroom dashi) and use it as the broth.

Ingredients

  • 700g (2 packages) soft tofu, cut into cubes

  • 150g pound ground pork

  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed

  • 1 tbsp ginger, grated

  • 2 tbsp fermented chili bean paste (doubanjiang)

  • sichuan peppercorns, crushed or ground (to taste)

  • 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine

  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

  • 1 tbsp sugar

  • 1/4 cup stock

  • 1/4 cup roasted chili oil (sichuan)

  • 1/4 cup green onion, chopped

  • a vegetable (peas, carrot, cauli, beans, etc) steamed and chopped

  • corn starch, mixed in water

Directions

  1. Heat a pot of salted water to a gentle boil.

  2. Premix wine, dark soy, sugar, stock, and sichuan peppercorns into a sauce.

  3. Cut tofu into cubes. Boil in the water gently for 1 minute. Remove carefully with a strainer and set aside.

  4. In a wok or nonstick pan heat some oil. Cook the ground meat through, breaking up into small pieces.

  5. Add garlic and ginger and fry for 1 minute. Add the doubanjiang and fry until the oil separates.

  6. Add the sauce to deglaze, then the veggies and scallions. When boiling add the corn starch.

  7. Gently fold in the tofu, using care with the back of the spatula to coat and heat, but not crush or boil.

  8. Add more sichuan peppercorns as needed, season, and serve hot.

Source