Simple mapo tofu is made with wealthy and mouthwatering Sichuan flavors and may be made in beneath half-hour! Mapo tofu combines silken tofu and floor pork in a masterpiece of a sauce made with aromatic aromatics, Sichuan peppercorns, spicy broad bean paste (doubanjiang), and fully completely different umami seasonings.
Every chew of this spicy mapo tofu creates a spicy and savory mouthfeel, that leaves a tingly, numbing sensation which retains you coming as soon as extra for extra. Pair this Sichuan mapo tofu with steamed rice for perhaps basically probably the most scrumptious straightforward weekday meal.
What’s Mapo Tofu?
Mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐, ma po dou fu) is a well-liked Chinese language language language tofu dish originating from the Sichuan province. The decide interprets to “pockmarked grandma’s tofu.” This tofu dish is assumed for its daring, spicy, and mouth-numbing selections.
Mapo tofu usually selections mild tofu cubes and floor pork or beef simmered in a spicy mapo tofu sauce made out of doubanjiang, Sichuan peppercorns, and chili oil.
Substances
You may uncover all these mapo tofu substances at your native Chinese language language language or Asian grocery market. I’ve linked the entire thing that I used beneath.
Flooring Pork Seasoning
- Flooring pork: for this mapo tofu recipe, I used floor pork nonetheless alternatively it is best to make use of floor beef or hen.
- Shaoxing Wine: Shaoxing wine seasons the protein so as in order so as to add complexity and tenderize the meat.
- Mild Soy Sauce: delicate soy sauce offers a salty umami fashion to the underside pork.
- Ginger and Garlic: ginger and garlic are the core aromatics for this Sichuan mapo tofu.
Mapo Tofu Sauce
- Doubangjiang: doubanjiang or spicy broad bean sauce is a MUST-have ingredient. No substitutions may be made for this ingredient.
- Sichuan Peppercorns: Sichuan peppercorns or hua jiao add a citrusy fashion and the enduring mouth-numbing and tingly sensation. Be sure that to toast them barely on the range earlier than grinding and cooking all through the recipe.
- Low Sodium Rooster Inventory: low sodium hen inventory offers further savory fashion with out an excessive amount of added salt.
- Chili Oil: Chili oil or chili crisp offers further spicy flavors and aromatics. You could benefit from selfmade chili oil or store-bought chili oil.
- Darkish Soy Sauce: darkish soy sauce offers a contact of umami sweetness and in addition to contributes to the darker wealthy colour.
- Rooster Bouillon Powder: hen bouillon powder offers one completely different layer of savoriness with out added liquid.
- 5 Spice Powder: five-spice powder offers a novel sweetness and heat to the mapo tofu sauce.
- Granulated Sugar: granulated sugar balances and neutralizes the warmth from the spicy substances.
- Silken Tofu: silken tofu yields the softest form of tofu and might be fairly easy to interrupt down if stirred too extensively.
- Inexperienced Onion: inexperienced onion offers one completely different fragrant layer.
- Sesame Oil: sesame oil is a ending ingredient that offers a contact of nutty umami fashion.
- Cornstarch: cornstarch thickens the mapo tofu sauce.
What’s doubanjiang?
Doubanjiang (豆瓣酱)(là dòubàn jiàng, or tobanjiang), normally known as spicy broad bean paste or spicy fermented bean paste is the mandatory issue ingredient for mapo tofu. It’s usually a reddish brown and has a chunky texture. Doubanjiang is made out of fermented broad beans, soybeans, salt, rice, and fully completely different spices. The fermentation creates a spicy, deep, earthy, and wealthy umami fashion.
Completely fully completely different producers yield fully fully completely different ranges of spiciness and saltiness. I used Lee Kum Kee doubanjiang on this recipe nonetheless for a further actual fashion use Pixian broad bean paste which is from a small Sichuan province So you might presumably want to manage the seasonings to mannequin.
Substitutions and Additions
You’ll be able to customise your ma po tofu with the following selections.
Substitutions
- Protein: floor beef and floor hen are fully completely different proteins which can be merely as scrumptious.
- Vegetarian mapo tofu: use chopped shiitake mushrooms as an alternative of floor pork and Vegetable inventory as an alternative of hen inventory.
- Inventory: as an alternative of Rooster inventory, it is best to make use of water or vegetable inventory.
- Tofu: once you’re involved regarding the tofu falling aside too merely, it is best to make use of firm, medium, or mild Tofu as correctly.
Additions
- Greens: bell peppers, mushrooms, snow peas, and baby corn can add further dietary nutritional vitamins and flavors.
- Spice stage: for added spiciness, add further Sichuan peppercorns or chili oil.
- Aromatics: cilantro, further garlic, and additional ginger can have further pungent fragrant flavors.
- Oyster sauce: add oyster sauce to experiment with further umami savory flavors.
Make Mapo Tofu
Listed beneath are the easy-to-follow steps for one of the best ways to make mapo tofu.
- Marinate the pork. In a mixing bowl, add floor pork, Shaoxing wine, delicate soy sauce, and ginger. Combine till blended.
- Add the garlic, pork, and doubanjiang. In a wok or giant skillet over medium warmth, warmth 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil till scorching. Add the garlic and saute till aromatic, about 1 minute. Subsequent, add the pork and doubanjiang and break them into small bits. Combine and mix till the spicy chili bean paste and pork have cooked by, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add the remaining substances. Add the Sichuan floor peppercorns, low sodium hen inventory, chili oil, hen bouillon powder, 5 spice powder, and sugar. Combine till blended. Convey the combination to a boil.
- Add cornstarch slurry. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water till blended. When it reaches a boil, add the cornstarch slurry and gently stir till the sauce thickens.
- Add tofu. Unfold the tofu evenly on prime of the pork and utilizing an enormous spoon fastidiously scoop the pork and sauce beneath and fold on prime of the tofu till the entire thing is coated. Put together dinner dinner for two minutes till the tofu is heat.
- Add inexperienced onion and sesame oil. Add the sesame oil and inexperienced onion and gently stir till merely built-in. Take away from the warmth.
- Serve. Garnish with a sprinkle of Sichuan peppercorn and serve with a bowl of steamed rice. Benefit from!
Educated Choices
- Toast the Sichuan peppercorns. Earlier than grinding the peppercorns, calmly toast them on a skillet over medium warmth for 30 seconds to 1 minute to boost their fashion, scale back the bitterness, and improve the tingling numbing sensation.
- Address the tofu with care. For silken tofu, it tends to interrupt down actually merely. For many who add all through the tofu cubes, don’t swap them an excessive amount of, and use a spoon to pour the present mapo tofu sauce on prime of the tofu to warmth them up.
- Use good high quality chili oil. Chili oil is a crucial ingredient on this mapo tofu recipe. Use high quality store-bought chili oil or make it your self with this selfmade chili oil.
- Vogue and regulate primarily based completely on preferences. Vogue your spicy mapo tofu as you set collectively dinner and regulate the spices and seasonings primarily based completely in your preferences. Completely fully completely different producers of doubanjiang and chili oil will fluctuate the flavors and spice ranges.
Storage Directions
Permit the mapo tofu to take a seat again completely to room temperature after which retailer it in an hermetic container all through the fridge for as rather a lot as 5 days.
Reheat: to reheat mapo tofu you may microwave coated till heat or put collectively dinner the mapo tofu on the range prime in a pot with a lid stirring sometimes till heat.
Freeze: you can also make mapo tofu prematurely after which freeze it in an hermetic container all through the freezer for as rather a lot as 3 months. Do not forget that the tofu texture might develop to be denser and chewier when freezing. Defrost all through the fridge in a single day earlier than reheating.
Incessantly Requested Q’s and A’s
What sort of tofu is largest for Mapo tofu?
Historically mild or silken tofu is used for its melt-in-your-mouth texture. Nonetheless, there is no unsuitable alternative correct proper right here. You could benefit from medium, firm, or further firm tofu which is method a lot much less additional extra more likely to collapse when mixing.
Do I’ve to blanch the tofu first?
No. However once you’re frightened regarding the mild falling aside, you may blanch the cubes in boiling salted water for two minutes to firm up the tofu to forestall it from breaking up as merely when cooking.
Can I make mapo tofu vegetarian or vegan?
Sure! you can also make a vegetarian or vegan mapo tofu by omitting the pork and utilizing mushrooms or one other plant-based floor meat substitute. Furthermore, substitute the hen inventory and hen bouillon powder for vegetable inventory and mushroom powder.
Can I make a rather a lot a lot much less oily mapo tofu?
Sure, you may scale back the crimson oily layer on prime by lowering the quantity of chili oil and utilizing leaner rather a lot a lot much less fatty meat.
Can I make mapo tofu with out Sichuan peppercorns?
Sure! You’ll be able to nonetheless make the Chinese language language language mapo tofu with out the Sichuan peppercorns and it’ll eradicate the numbing feeling. Substitute with a small quantity of white pepper for the same fashion profile.
How do I serve mapo tofu?
Serve your mapo tofu with steamed rice, noodles, or fried rice. For an added vegetable facet dish, you may serve it with garlic inexperienced beans or garlic bok choy.
Why is my mapo tofu sauce not thickened?
Ensure that the mapo sauce has come to a slight boil earlier than along with the cornstarch slurry. Defend simmering the sauce till it could possibly positively thickens. If that doesn’t work, add one completely different teaspoon of cornstarch till it thickens.
Extra Tofu Recipes to Try
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Mapo Tofu Recipe
Mapo Tofu
This straightforward 30 minute mapo tofu recipe selections silken tofu and floor pork cooked in an addicting spicy, savory Sichuan sauce.
Servings: 4 servings
Substances
Marinate the pork. In a medium mixing bowl, add floor pork, Shaoxing wine, delicate soy sauce, and ginger. Combine till blended.
Add the garlic, pork, and doubanjiang. In a wok or giant skillet over medium warmth, warmth 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil till scorching. Add the garlic and saute till aromatic, about 1 minute. Subsequent, add the pork and doubanjiang and break them into small bits. Combine and mix till the spicy chili bean paste and pork have cooked by, about 4-5 minutes.
Add the remaining substances. Add the Sichuan floor peppercorns, low sodium hen inventory, chili oil, hen bouillon powder, 5 spice powder, and sugar. Combine till blended. Convey the combination to a boil.
Add cornstarch slurry. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water till blended. When it reaches a boil, add the cornstarch slurry and gently stir till the sauce thickens.
Add tofu. Unfold the tofu evenly on prime of the pork and utilizing an enormous spoon fastidiously scoop the pork and sauce beneath and fold on prime of the tofu till the entire thing is coated. Put together dinner dinner for two minutes till the tofu is heat.
Add inexperienced onion and sesame oil. Add the sesame oil and inexperienced onion and gently stir till merely built-in. Take away from the warmth.
Serve. Garnish with a sprinkle of Sichuan peppercorn further inexperienced onion. Serve with a bowl of steamed rice. Benefit from!
- Toast the Sichuan peppercorns. Earlier than grinding the peppercorns, calmly toast them on a skillet over medium warmth for 30 seconds to 1 minute to boost their fashion, scale back the bitterness, and improve the tingling numbing sensation.
- Address the tofu with care. For silken tofu, it tends to interrupt down actually merely. For many who add all through the tofu cubes, don’t swap them an excessive amount of, and use a spoon to pour the present mapo tofu sauce on prime of the tofu to warmth them up.
- Use good high quality chili oil. Chili oil is a crucial ingredient on this mapo tofu recipe. Use high quality store-bought chili oil or make it your self with this selfmade chili oil.
- Vogue and regulate primarily based completely on preferences. Vogue your spicy mapo tofu as you set collectively dinner and regulate the spices and seasonings primarily based completely in your preferences. Completely fully completely different producers of doubanjiang and chili oil will fluctuate the flavors and spice ranges.
Energy: 152kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 8g | Fats: 10g | Saturated Fats: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g | Monounsaturated Fats: 5g | Ldl ldl ldl cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 286mg | Potassium: 180mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 43IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1mg