Mapo Tofu

麻婆豆腐

This is a China Szechuan dish that is spicy and numbing. The two key ingredients are doubanjiang (豆瓣酱, broad bean paste) and Szechuan peppercorn. I don't stock those two ingredients in my kitchen and cook this dish by replacing them with ingredients that are readily available in my kitchen: gochujang (korean chilli paste) and miso (fermented soy bean paste). Here is my version of copycat mapo tofu dish which my family loves. 

Ingredients:

1 block of pressed/firm tofu

100g minced pork

1/8 teaspoon salt

Dashes of fresh ground black pepper

1/2 tablespoon gochujang (korean chilli paste)

1 tablespoon miso paste

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon sake

1 tablespoon chilli and sesame oil (辣油)

1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce

150ml water or chicken stock

3 stalks of scallions

Corn starch solution (mix 1/2 tablespoon corn starch with 1 tablespoon water)

1 spoonful of love 

Method:

1. Remove tofu from package. To further drain water from tofu, placing a plate on the tofu for 15minutes. Cut the tofu into cubes after draining and set aside until step 5.

2. Cut the scallions into small pieces, separating the green and white parts.

3. Heat up wok with cooking oil. Stir fry garlic and ginger under medium heat until fragrant. Add the minced pork to garlic and ginger, add salt and black pepper to the pork and stir fry under high heat until pork is cooked through. Add sake and scallion (white part) to the pork and lightly mix until moisture is gone. Then, reduce the heat to low and push the pork to the side of the wok.

4. Put the gochujang, miso paste and sugar into the centre of the wok, and stir fry for 1 minute under low heat. If you want your mapo tofu to be more spicy, you can add chilli paste (recommended 老干妈brand spicy chilli crisp). After 1 minute, mix in the pork and stir fry under medium heat until pork is evenly coated with the gochujang/miso/chilli sauce.

5. Add water/chicken stock and soy sauce, and mix in. Add in tofu and mix lightly (so as not to break tofu). Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. 

6. Turn off the heat and add corn starch solution to thicken the mapo tofu sauce. Gently stir in the starch. Turn on the heat, add the chilli oil and continue to stir gently for 1 minute. 

7. Dish out the mapo tofu and top with scallion (green part) before serving.