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Finished! Jing's Homemade Mapo Tofu recipe

Authentic Mapo Tofu

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Most Sichuan dishes are mainly spicy, and Mapo Tofu also has the same taste as Sichuan dishes. Therefore, Chinese people think that Mapo tofu and rice are a good match, which greatly improves people's appetite. We will be cooking homemade Mapo Tofu today. When beef is not available, we can use pork instead. 
You can use peanut oil, soybean oil, or canola oil for frying, but the flavor of Chinese roasted rapeseed oil with Sichuan peppercorns creates the authentic taste experience you would enjoy in a restaurant in Chengdu.
4.50 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese Home Cooking, Sichuan cuisine
Servings 3 servings
Calories 758 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound tofu hard tofu is best
  • ⅓ pound pork, minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Aromatics:

Seasonings:

Finishing:

  • 3.5 ounces water (mix with starch)
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch (mix with 3.5 oz water)
  • 2 scallions (green part)

Instructions
 

Preparation

  • Cut the green onions into green and white parts.
    Green Onions, separate white part from green part for Mapo Tofu
  • Mix together 1 tablespoon (15 ml) starch + 3.5 oz (100ml) water and stir well. 
    1 tablespoon corn starch, 3.5 ounces water
    starch dissolved in water for Mapo Tofu
  • Chop the chili and garlic, and chop the green onions, keeping the white parts separate from the green parts.
    Garlic, Green Onion, Chili Peppers, starch solution for Jing's Homemade Mapo Tofu
  • Cut the tofu into 2cm (¾ inch) cubes.
    Cut the tofu into 2 cm cubes

Cooking

  • Pour cold water into the pot, add tofu and a teaspoon of salt, and bring to a boil. Transfer the tofu and hot water to a large bowl. (Leave the tofu to stand in the hot water to prevent it from sticking together.)
    1 pound tofu, 1 teaspoon salt
    boil the tofu
  • Season the oil: Pour the oil in the wok, add the Sichuan peppercorns, and stir fry until the Sichuan peppercorns turn slightly black. Then remove the peppercorns and discard. Leave the oil in the pot.
    2 tablespoons oil, 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns
    Use Sichuan Peppercorns to season the oil
  • Add bean paste, chopped green onion, minced garlic, and chili.
    3 cloves garlic, 2 scallions , 1 teaspoon Pixian Doubanjiang bean paste, 3 dried chili peppers
    Stir fry the chili bean paste
  • Stir fry until you smell the aroma.
    Add the minced onion, chili, and garlic, stir-fry until you smell the aroma
  • Pour in the minced pork and stir fry until the minced meat changes color.
    1/3 pound pork, minced
    Add the minced pork or beef
  • Add 1 1/4 cup (300ml) of water. Then add seasonings, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, cooking wine, white sugar, and white pepper. Stir fry evenly.
    1 teaspoon light soy sauce , 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, white (granulated), 1 teaspoon white pepper, ground, 1 1/4 cups water, 1 teaspoon Shaoxing cooking wine
    Add water and soy sauce and spices. The broth gives mapo tofu its distinct flavor
  • Strain the tofu from the hot water and add the tofu into the wok. After bringing it to a boil on high heat, reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Finally, pour the starch and water mix into the wok, and cook until the sauce becomes viscous.
    1 pound tofu
    add the tofu to the broth
  • Transfer from the wok to a plate and sprinkle with the reserved green portion of the green onions as a decoration. Serve.
    2 scallions
    Finished! Jing's Homemade Mapo Tofu recipe

Notes

  • Soak the tofu in hot water to prevent the tofu from sticking together. 
  • Mapo tofu with Pixian Doubanjiang bean paste will taste better. 
  • Sichuan chefs in China use caiziyou, which is a rapeseed oil from non-GMO seeds naturally low in erucic acid, and pressed by an expeller rather than chemically processed like Canola oil. Canola oil is made from GMO rapeseed, and chemically processed to create a neutral flavor and lower the concentration of erucic acid. For stir-frying, some Chinese chefs use equal parts caiziyou and rendered lard.
  • Peanut oil or soybean oil could also be used, but the authentic Sichuan flavor comes from the caiziyou oil.
This recipe cooks very quickly. You can prep the ingredients while the tofu is being blanched. Before you start cooking in the wok, have all your ingredients measured and ready, next to your cooking area, before you begin.

Nutrition

Calories: 758kcalCarbohydrates: 106gProtein: 41gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 926mgPotassium: 215mgFiber: 10gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 296IUVitamin C: 31mgCalcium: 303mgIron: 9mg
Keyword chao tian jiao chili pappers, cooking wine, garlic, 麻婆豆腐, minced pork, oil, roasted rapeseed (caiziyou), pepper, white, scallions, Sichuan peppercorn, soy sauce, dark, soy sauce, light, starch water, sugar, white, Tofu Recipes
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