Cookbook:Mapo Tofu

| Cuisine of China

Mápó dòufu (麻婆豆腐), also romanized as mapo tofu, is a classic spicy tofu and meat dish from the Szechuan province of China. It is a very flavourful, easy-to-prepare, and spicy dish.

Ingredients

 * 1 onion, sliced
 * 1 small piece of ginger, minced (about 2 tsp)
 * 1–2 tsp crushed dried chile pepper
 * 200 g (7 oz) minced beef, or pork
 * 4 cloves of garlic, minced
 * 500 g (1 lb) silken tofu, cubed
 * 2 tbsp chili bean paste (Doubanjiang)
 * 1 tbsp Szechuan pepper, roasted and ground
 * 1 tbsp soy sauce
 * 1 tbsp rice wine
 * 3–4 green onions, cut into 2 cm (1 inch) pieces
 * 2–3 mushrooms (tree ears preferred; optional)

Procedure

 * 1) If using dried mushrooms, soak them in hot water for 10 minutes while preparing the rest of the ingredients, then slice before adding later.
 * 2) Sauté onion with ginger and crushed chili.
 * 3) Add minced meat and garlic, and fry until brown.
 * 4) Mix in other ingredients (including sliced mushrooms), lower heat, and simmer for 5–10 minutes.
 * 5) Serve over steamed jasmine rice.

Notes, tips and variations

 * Some extra chili pepper can be substituted for Szechuan pepper, but the taste and feeling will be different. Szechuan pepper has a numbing sensation, not heat.
 * A little ground coriander and cumin is very nice in this dish, especially if you cannot find Szechuan pepper easily.
 * A red bell pepper, a tomato, and fresh coriander leaves are all welcome additions, though not traditional.
 * The meal is just as good with whole beans instead of tofu.
 * A vegan/vegetarian version of this meal can be made by substituting the meat with textured vegetable protein (TVP) or ground tofu (e.g. Shiok Food's Vegetarian Ma Po Tofu )