Mapo Tofu
Contains soy · sometimes contains gluten, dairy, egg, peanut, tree nut, sesame, shellfish, fish — check the label
Restrictions
ContainssoyIt is in an ingredient you cannot leave out.
Sometimes contains — check the labelgluten (doubanjiang, sichuan pepper) · dairy (doubanjiang, sichuan pepper) · egg (doubanjiang, sichuan pepper) · peanut (doubanjiang, sichuan pepper) · tree nut (doubanjiang, sichuan pepper) · sesame (doubanjiang, sichuan pepper) · shellfish (doubanjiang, sichuan pepper) · fish (doubanjiang, sichuan pepper)Some brands have it, some do not. The recipe cannot tell, so this is the one you check yourself.
Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.
Ingredients
| 600 g | soft or medium tofu |
| 200 g | ground pork |
| 2 tbsp | doubanjiang |
| 2 tsp | Sichuan pepper |
| 3 clove | garlic |
| 15 g | ginger |
| 400 ml | stock |
| 1 ½ tbsp | cornstarch |
| 3 unit | scallions |
Steps
- toast2 minSichuan pepper fragrantToast the Sichuan pepper briefly in a dry pan until fragrant, then grind it. Freshly toasted pepper supplies the citrusy numbing aroma that stale pre-ground pepper cannot reproduce.
- sear5 minpork browned into small crumblesBrown the ground pork in a hot wok until the moisture cooks away and the meat begins to crisp. The pork is a seasoning component rather than the bulk of the dish, so keep the crumbles small.
- fry3 mindoubanjiang red and aromaticAdd doubanjiang, garlic and ginger and fry until the oil turns red and aromatic. Frying the fermented chile-bean paste opens its flavor; adding it only to liquid leaves the sauce raw and one-dimensional.
- simmer8 mintofu heated throughAdd stock and cubes of tofu and simmer gently, moving the pan rather than stirring aggressively. Soft tofu should absorb sauce while retaining recognizable cubes.
- mix3 minsauce glossy and lightly clingingStir cornstarch with cool water and add it in stages, gently folding until the sauce clings to the tofu. Add only as much slurry as needed; mapo tofu should remain saucy, not gelatinous.
- top1 minserve immediatelyFinish with ground Sichuan pepper and scallions and serve hot with rice. The final pepper addition preserves the volatile numbing aroma rather than cooking it all away.