Mapo Tofu

*Post by Angela.

You may remember when I discovered my love for Sichuan peppercorns. Unfortunately, I have not found my Great Wall replacement in L.A. The situation got so dire – I had to do something. So I decided to try my hand at making it myself. It was a little bit of a pain getting all the ingredients (the spicy bean paste, fermented black bean paste, and Sichuan peppercorns had to be acquired from an Asian grocery store). But it was fantastic, although Mark really doesn’t like the mouth-numbing feeling and therefore, didn’t agree. I followed this recipe from Rasa Malaysia, which is normally my first stop when I want to cook an Asian dish for the first time.

 

I decided to make my own chili oil (well, not so much decided as forgot to buy it). I used Japones peppers, which are very, very hot, although you could use any hot dried chili pepper. Or, you could, you know, buy it.

List of ingredients for the chili oil:

• 20-24 dried Japones chili peppers
• 1 cup peanut oil

First, I chopped up the chili peppers, and learning from prior experience, was careful not to get the oils from the peppers on my hands. I left the seeds in for extra heat, but you could also discard them for a slightly milder oil. I placed them in the bottom of a glass jar.

 

I heated the oil in a small saucepan over high heat until it started to smoke slightly. I turned the heat to medium, cooked an additional 30 seconds, then removed it from heat and let it cool about 3 minutes. Then I poured the oil over the peppers and let it sit about an hour. I strained out the chil peppers and seeds and set the oil aside.

 

I also prepared the star of the show, the Sichuan peppercorns. You can often find Sichuan peppercorn powder in Chinese groceries, which is the easier way to do it. Or you could toast whole Sichuan peppercorns in a pan, then grind them into a fine powder.

 

Now that I had my chili oil and Sichuan peppercorn powder, I was ready to start the dish.

List of ingredients for the mapo tofu:

• 4 tbsp peanut oil
• 6 tbsp chili oil
• 4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ½ lb. ground pork (or for a vegetarian version, textured vegetable protein would be perfect, or you could sub in 1 cup of your choice of vegetable, like chopped bell pepper, green beans, mushrooms, etc.)
• 6 tbsp spicy bean paste
• 4 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp fermented black bean paste
• 2 14 oz. containers of silken/soft tofu, drained and cubed
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorn powder
• 2 stalks scallions, cut into 1” pieces

First, I took 6 tbsp of that chili oil I made, added it to 4 tbsp of peanut oil in a pot and heated it over medium heat. I added the garlic, pork (or TVP/vegetables), and spicy bean paste, mixed it all up, and cooked about 5 minutes, breaking up the pork with my spatula. I added the chili powder, soy sauce and fermented black bean paste, stirred it until combined and cooked another 2-3 minutes.

 

I plopped in the tofu and broth, gently stirred it in (without breaking the cubes), then lowered the heat and simmered an additional 5 minutes.

 

Finally, I added the Sichuan peppercorn powder and scallions, stirred until combined, then served it up over white rice. The tingling started as soon as the spoon touched my lips, which was fantastic for me, not so great for Mark, who finds the sensation unpleasant (next time I make this, I'll leave the Sichuan peppercorn powder out of the dish and just add it to my portion). And the heat level was not insignificant, which was another plus. But underneath the fiery tingling was a wonderfully complex dish, melding garlicky porkiness and umami (from the two bean pastes) with the silky tofu. Mapo tofu might be my favorite Chinese dish of all time, and this recipe? Holds its own against any other I've tasted. If you can find all the ingredients, I dare you to try to make this only once.

 

Comments

[Debb]

Yumz, I can't wait to try this at home!

[Angela]

Whee! I think this turned out just about as good as the dish at China Star...

[Evan]

i love mapo tofu, but the wife isn't a fan of spicy stuff like this. Maybe i'll make it for myself soon. i still have a bag of sichuan peppers

[Angela]

You could make it for both of you and then add in the pepper at the end to just your portion - that's what I'm gonna do with Mark next time I make this.