I will serve you the disclaimer up front: “authentic” mapo tofu is hard to perfect. For one, traditional Szechuan dishes often require a flaming hot wok set atop a powerful heat source that can look like hellfire, which can be just a tad difficult to arrange in a home kitchen. Secondly, as I’ve touched on in my
fish-fragrant eggplant recipe, there are some core ingredients—like Pixian doubanjiang—that are close to impossible to find in most stores in the US.
Ingredients
For the meat
- 1/4 lb.ground beef, ground pork, or minced mushrooms
- 2 tsp.toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp.reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp.ground white pepper
- 1/4 tsp.freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp.granulated sugar
For the stir-fry
- 2 tbsp.peanut oil or other neutral oil
- 2 tbsp.chili paste, preferably doubanjiang
- 1 tbsp.fermented black beans, roughly chopped
- 2-3 tsp. crushed Szechuan peppercorns
- 6cloves garlic, halved
- 1½” piece ginger, minced
- 5scallions, cut into 1½” pieces, plus more for garnish
- 1 tbsp.granulated sugar
- 1 lb.soft tofu, cut into 1½” cubes
- 1 1/2 c.water or low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tbsp.cornstarch
- 1 tbsp.reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp.toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp.Chinese black vinegar
- 1/2 tsp.MSG (optional)
- Chili oil, for topping (optional)
- Cooked rice, for serving
Directions
-
- Step 1
In a small bowl, stir together all meat ingredients until combined evenly. Set aside while preparing remaining ingredients.
- Step 2In a deep-sided large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add marinated meat and cook, stirring frequently, until deeply golden and almost crispy, about 5 minutes. Transfer meat to a clean bowl and keep fat in the skillet.
- Step 3Return skillet to medium-high heat, and add chili paste, black beans, and Szechuan peppercorns, and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in garlic, ginger, and scallions, and stir until soft and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Step 4Reduce heat to medium. Add sugar, tofu, and water, and bring to a boil. Periodically, gently shake the pan to coat tofu in the sauce. Cook until liquid reduces by half, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Step 5In a small bowl, stir cornstarch with soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, and MSG, if using, until smooth. Drizzle cornstarch slurry into the skillet, and gently stir to distribute evenly, allowing the tofu to break into smaller pieces naturally. Cook until sauce thickens and becomes shiny, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle cooked meat evenly across the tofu.
- Step 6Drizzle with chili oil and sprinkle with more scallions, if desired, before serving with rice.
- Step 1
