Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐)

麻婆豆腐

Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐) — SichuanChengdu, Sichuan home cooking.

Ingredients

• silken or soft tofu
• ground pork (or beef)
• doubanjiang (fermented chili bean paste)
• fermented black beans (douchi), rinsed & minced (optional)
• garlic, minced
• ginger, minced
• scallions, white part + green part separated
• chili flakes (or 2 dried chilies)
• Sichuan peppercorn, ground
• light soy sauce
• chicken stock (or water + 1/2 tsp mushroom powder)
• cornstarch slurry (1 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water)
• neutral oil

Instructions

1. Cut tofu into 2 cm cubes. Blanch in gently simmering salted water for 2 minutes, then drain (keeps it from breaking and warms it up). (Water barely simmering, tofu cubes floating without sticking together)
2. Heat oil in a wok over medium. Add ground pork and fry until it changes color and starts to render. (Pork turns from pink to pale brown, releasing fat)
3. Push pork aside. Add doubanjiang and fry 1 minute until the oil turns red. Add douchi, garlic, ginger, and chili flakes; stir 30 seconds until fragrant. (Oil turns deep red-orange (the classic 红油 moment))
4. Add soy sauce, then pour in the stock. Bring to a simmer. (Sauce is bubbling gently, deep red)
5. Gently slide in the tofu. Shake the pan (don't stir — it breaks) and simmer 5 minutes so it absorbs the sauce. (Tofu bathed in sauce, edges slightly darkened from soaking)
6. Add half the cornstarch slurry, stir gently by pushing the sauce, and watch it thicken. Repeat with the rest if you want a thicker coat. (Sauce turns glossy and clings to the back of a spoon)
7. Off heat: stir in the white scallion parts. Plate, dust generously with ground Sichuan pepper, and top with green scallions. (Steam carries the Sichuan pepper aroma — that's the má là signature)