Restaurant Style Mapo Tofu
Technique: Red-braised (Hóngshāo) Cuisine: Sichuan On my Chinese home kitchen we have published an authentic home style recipe for Mapo Tofu. Mapo tofu is a Sichuan dish that is popular in China and around the world. Do you wonder how restaurant style Mapo Tofu is prepared? I learned this dish at New Oriental Cooking School and it turned out to be spicy and delicious compared to our home-style version of Mapo Tofu. Note that when we cook the tofu, the secret is to heat the tofu for enough time, so the surface of the tofu is hot, and the inside of it is also hot. If the inside of the tofu is cool, then this dish has failed.
Equipment
- 1 wok
- 1 saucepan
Ingredients
Main Ingredient:
- 500 g tofu
Accessory Ingredients:
- 1 scallion
- 3 slices fresh ginger
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 green garlic
- 1.5 - 2 tsp Chinese chili powder medium spiciness
- 30-50 g beef, lean
- 2 tsp caiziyou (roasted rapeseed oil) or canola oil
Seasonings:
- Salt to taste
- ½ tsp sugar, white (granulated)
- ½ tsp MSG (optional)
- ½ tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1.5 tsp Pixian doubanjiang bean paste
- 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorn oil
- ½ tsp Ground white pepper
- starch water (as needed)
Instructions
Preparation
- Peel and wash the scallions, ginger, and green garlic.
- Cut the tofu into 1.5mm cubes (1/16 inch). Chop the scallions, ginger, garlic, and green garlic. Cut the beef into .
Cooking
- Blanch the tofu. Add enough water to a saucepan to cover the tofu, add about 5 ml (1 tsp) salt, and bring to a boil. Then remove from the heat, but leave the tofu in the hot water until needed.500 g tofu
- Add 10ml oil to the wok, add the beef and brown it until the color changes, then add the doubanjiang bean paste, dark soy sauce, ginger and garlic.3 slices fresh ginger, 3 cloves garlic, 30-50 g beef, lean, 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce, 1.5 tsp Pixian doubanjiang bean paste, 2 tsp caiziyou (roasted rapeseed oil)
- Then add the blanched tofu, and add enough water to cover the tofu. Season with salt, sugar, monosodium glutamate, light soy sauce, and chili powder. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes and add the green onions.1 scallion, 1 green garlic, 1.5 - 2 tsp Chinese chili powder, Salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, white (granulated), 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1/2 tsp MSG
- Cook until 1/3 of the broth remains. Then add starch water, stir fry evenly, and add the Sichuan pepper oil. Finally, add the ground white pepper.1 tsp Sichuan peppercorn oil, 1/2 tsp Ground white pepper, starch water
- Finish.
Notes
- When the tofu is blanched, add a small amount of salt. It can makes the tofu less likely to break.
- Be careful not to break the tofu when flipping the tofu during cooking.
Nutrition
Calories: 971kcalCarbohydrates: 172gProtein: 57gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 304mgPotassium: 124mgFiber: 16gSugar: 26gVitamin A: 330IUVitamin C: 60mgCalcium: 479mgIron: 14mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!