Mapo Tofu

Don't turn your nose up at tofu, when cooked properly it is amazing.  And even better when cooked with pork!  Mapo tofu is one of those dishes that are a touch stone for me.   For many years it was what I used to judge if a Chinese restaurant really knew what it was doing and if I should come back.  The combination of tofu, pork, and spice served on rice is one of those great pleasures.  Since moving to Florida I've found this to be a mistake and almost every time I've ordered it I've been disappointed.  Most places in florida serve up a bland version overly thickened with corn starch.  So I've stopped ordering it.  Except from Lucky Star in Bradenton or if I travel to Toronto or California.

I've made various versions of Mapo tofu since I started cooking.  Originally I worked from a recipe from the frugal gourmet's book, The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines: China, Greece, and Rome.  But more recently I've found what I consider a better starting point in Fuchia Dunlop's book Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking.  What I do is a variation on both of these but they are good starting points.

(click to see how I make this)
You will need 1/2 lb of ground pork, a medium sized shallot, a couple of cloves garlic (minced), a block of firm or soft tofu, soy sauce,  spicy red bean paste, sichuan pepper corns, about a cup to a cup and  half of chicken stock and some green onion for garnish.  You want to dice the shallots and garlic and get all the other things out and ready to go.  Remove the tofu from whatever wrapper, container or what have you that you bought in in and let it drain while you do your other prep.  Cube it just before you are ready to get started with the steps below.

One thing that has made a huge difference  in this dish is using a good spicy bean paste/sauce.  This one I have here works very well for me.  But you'll want to experiment with what you can get and what tastes right to you.  Also, go to the effort to get sichuan pepper corns.  They are magic.  You can get them from Penzeys, which is a great place to buy a lot of spices.  

The pepper corns are best if you toast them slightly in a pan.  You can toast a few table spoons of the pepper corns and keep in a sealed jar for a reasonable amount of time.


Start off by heating your wok.  Add about 1-2 table spoons of oil and get it just before it starts to smoke. Add the garlic, chopped shallot and mix for about 10 seconds until you get that great shallot smell.  Then add about 1 to 2 table spoons of the hot bean paste.  The oil should turn red and you should get a great smell of spice, garlic and shallot.  Don't burn it at this point or you might as well start over.  Mix it a bit and then add the pork.

Break the pork up and stir to let it cook evenly.  When it is about 75% cooked, judge by the ratio of pink to brown.  Add about 1/3 of a cup of light soy, basically fill the tool that I have pictured here with a good soy sauce (see my post on measuring).  I recommend pearl river bridge soy sauce if you can find it.  Then add the stock, tofu and some sichuan pepper corns.  You can substitute some sriracha or other  hot chili sauce at this point but the pepper corns are better.  I often use both pepper corns and red chili paste for some extra kick.



How much sichuan pepper to add you ask?  Well, that depends.  About 6 to 12 pepper corns is enough to give you the taste and a bit of surprise when you eat one.  More than that you are a serious pepper corn freak.  Also depends on who you are sharing this with.  No fun if your guests can't handle it and all they can taste is the pepper corns.  Try using just a few and in later batches mess with the number to see how you like it.  The pepper corns are not really hot but will make you lips and tongue go numb for just a  little bit.  It is best if you get one maybe every 4th or 5th bite in my  experience.  Plus at this point they are just adding to the flavor of the dish as you simmer it.

At this point you should have something that looks like this, bring back to a boil and then turn down the heat so you get a good simer.  I've found simmering this dish for a good 10 to 15 minutes really helps develop the flavors.  I think that is where many restaurants go wrong and hurry this part.  But making it at home means you can take your time and let it really develop.  It will also concentrate the stock some and become a nice stew like consistency.  You may need to add a little more stock or water at this point and just keep it going and don't let it cook down to nothing.  I usually time it so that my rice is getting close to being done while this is simmering.

You can, and I often do, use just a little corn starch in water to thicken this just at the end.  I know I bitched about restaurants doing it, but it is one thing to add just a little bit to thicken it and another to replace the simmer with a ton of corn starch.  Once you have it at a nice stew like thickness either by cooking down or using the starch, serve it on rice and garnish with the green onion.

Yes, I know people turn their nose up at tofu and it is supposed to be for veggies but this is a great peasant style Chinese dish and well worth mastering.  Just enough spice to make you sweat and a great flavor plus plenty of protein.  Give it a try and enjoy.