mapo tofu
notes
this is my personal take on the dish, using what i commonly have in my kitchen, it is by no means traditional. originally based on chinese cooking demystified's recipe, which is linked below. this makes enough for at least 2 people. i normally don't measure anything, so please use your best judgement.
https://www.reddit.com/r/cooking/comments/bkwppx/recipe_sichuan_mapo_tofu_revisited_%e9%ba%bb%e5%a9%86%e8%b1%86%e8%85%90/
ingredients
Soft Tofu :300g (1 package)
Garlic :2-4 cloves
Ginger :about an inch
Ground Beef :60g
Dried Mushrooms :a handful
Lao Gan Ma Chili Oil :tablespoon
Five-Spice Powder :a sprinkle
Light Soy Sauce :to taste
Dark Soy Sauce :tablespoon
Sugar :to taste
Sichuan Peppercorn :2 teaspoons
Rice Vinegar :1-2 teaspoons
Shaoxing Wine :tablespoon
Sesame Oil :teaspoon
Scallion :a small handful
Cornstarch :tablespoon
Peanuts :a handful
section notes
Ground beef can be omitted if more mushrooms are used. Shaoxing wine can be substituted with a dry sherry, or omitted entirely. I use shitake mushrooms, but really any dried mushroom should work. Peanuts are also optional.
instructions
1 . Soak your dried mushrooms in warm water for at least half an hour. Once they are tender, squeeze out the excess liquid and cut into a fine mince. Reserve the mushroom soaking liquid. This dish is best served with rice, so now would be a good time to get your rice cooker going.
2 . Toast your Sichuan peppercorn in a hot pan until you can start to smell it. Pour it into a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder and grind it into powder.
3 . In a wok or high sided pan, begin to fry the beef on medium heat, breaking up the beef mince into fine pieces. We want the beef to be cooked past well done, so that it is quite crispy. It is in this dish primarily for flavour.
4 . Remove the tofu from the packaging and slice it into cubes. Soak it in very hot salted water. This will remove the grassy taste from the tofu.
5 . Once the beef is mostly cooked, add the mushroom mince and continue to fry until the pan is dry, you can add a little oil if things are sticking. At this point I start to add the garlic and ginger, which you can either mince or grate on a microplane. Turn the heat down to low, as the aromatics can burn quite easily.
6 . Once the aromatics are cooked through you can add the chili oil, five spice powder, half of the Sichuan peppercorn, and dark soy sauce. Let these cook out a bit over medium heat, and then deglaze the pan with the Shaoxing Wine.
7 . Add the reserved mushroom soaking liquid to the pan. Drain your tofu and add as well. Stir the tofu into the sauce carefully, as to not break it. Let everything cook over medium heat for 5-10 minutes. Now is the time to start adjusting for seasoning. Add sugar and light soy sauce to taste. Since this will be served over rice, we want the flavour to be quite strong.
8 . Make a slurry with the cornstarch and use it to thicken the sauce to a consistency you like, I like mine on the more liquid side of things. Add peanuts if using.
9 . Once you are ready to start plating, add the rice vinegar, sesame oil, and half of the scallions (cut into a mince). The flavour of these ingredients will degrade given heat and time, so its best to add them at the end. If the dish is tasting bland at this point, you can try adding some more chili oil.
10 . Pour the mapo tofu into a bowl and sprinkle the remaining Sichuan peppercorn and scallions on top. Spoon portions of the dish into a bowl of rice and enjoy ^_^