One of the most popular dishes originated from the Szechuan region of China, this dish mainly consists of tofu, mince pork or mince beef, chillies and Szechuan pepper. In this recipe, we have replaced chillies and Szechuan peppers with spicy bean paste, which is available in most Oriental supermarkets, but feel free to experiment! Szechuan peppers, if you haven’t had them before, are spicy and they numb the tongue slightly, giving that distinct Szechuan taste.
The Chinese name, pronounced as mapo tofu, refers to the inventor of this dish. Mazi means someone who’s body is disfigured by pockmarks. Po refers to an old woman. It is believed that the woman who invented the dish had pocks marks all over her face and people referred to her as mapo.
Ingredients:
350 – 400g of mince pork
800g of Chinese tofu
2 cloves of garlic
8 tbsp of spicy bean paste
Light soy sauce
Dark soy sauce
Chinese XianHsing wine
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Procedure:
- Marinade the pork in sugar, light soy sauce and dark soy sauce for at least 10 min.
- Brown the mince in a heated wok and drain the mince pork of oil.
- Cut up the tofu in cubes.
- In a clean wok, heat two tablespoons of oil. Brown the garlic and add the mince.
- Add a splash of Chinese XiaoHsing wine, light soy sauce and sugar. Stir in to mix. Cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add 8 tablespoons of spicy bean paste.
- Add the cubed tofu and then cook until the tofu is hot.
Tips:
- To mix tofu scoop from the bottom of the mince, almost like folding the tofu in, so that the tofu is not broken into small bits.
- Add less spicy bean paste for a less spicy dish.
- Chinese XiaoHsing wine can be bought in most Chinese supermarkets.
Ho Mei (好味) Kitchen 