With adulthood comes the freedom to be whoever you want to be and cook and eat whatever you please. For me, one of the things adulthood brought me was the freedom to experience foods I never ate as a kid such as spicy food.
I rarely ate spicy food growing up other than the occasional Flaming Hot Cheeto (yes, Cheeto). Blame it on my mom; she’s the cook in the family and never whipped up spicy food! I guess beggars can’t be choosers…
Then I arrive at college where my roommates were spice lovers. I remember my first time cooking family dinner for the girls. It was also my first time handling jalapenos. O. M. G., my fingers burned like fire for a couple of hours because I fumbled with the peppers as I was preparing my dish.
Then I entered the workforce and got involved with a vegan boyfriend. He, too, loved spicy food. I loved Chinese food, so the ultimate compromise was mapo tofu, vegan style.
I believe minced pork has traditionally been a supporting ingredient in this dish, but I’ve omitted it over the years and never felt like I was missing out on anything. And with the increased popularity of Sichuan cuisine, it’s easier than ever to get a hold of Sichuan peppercorns. This stuff provides the numbness in this dish. Maybe it’s psychological, but the tips of my fingers get a little numb just from removing the peppercorn stems!
This version is not vegan because of the chicken broth, but a simple substitution to a veggie broth can do the trick. And while this dish is perfect for cold, winter nights, you can eat this year-round. Have a big ol’ bowl of rice ready to scoop up the sauce that comes with it!
If you like this Mapo Tofu recipe, try my
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Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐)
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Mains
- Cuisine: Chinese
Description
As one of the most popular Asian tofu recipes, mapo tofu is perfect for cold, winter nights but you can eat this year-round. Have a big ol’ bowl of rice ready to scoop up the sauce that comes with it!
Ingredients
- 1.25 tablespoons of Sichuan peppercorns, stems removed
- A small knob of ginger, finely chopped
- 5 or 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 3 Thai chilies, thinly sliced into small rounds, or 5 or 6 small dried red chili peppers, chopped
- 3 stalks of green onion, whites finely chopped, greens roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon of spicy bean sauce (2 if you want your dish to be spicier)
- 2/3 cups of chicken broth or 2/3 cups of water with 1/2 teaspoon of Chinese chicken powder
- 1 box of soft tofu, cut into cubes
- Chili oil
- Cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 1/2 cup of water)
- Neutral-flavored cooking oil
Instructions
- Crush the peppercorns. Place the peppercorns in a mortar and coarsely crush them with a pestle. Scoop 1 tablespoon into a small dish and finely crush the rest until it becomes almost a powder. Keep these two grinds separate. Alternatively, place the peppercorns in a coffee bean grinder and coarsely grind them. Scoop 1 tablespoon into a small dish and continue grinding the rest until it becomes almost a powder. Keep these two grinds separate.
- Cook the aromatics. Preheat a pan with high sides over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Add the coarsely grounded Sichuan peppercorns and stir occasionally for 2 to 3 minutes. Add ginger to the pan. Stir and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the garlic, chilies and white parts of the green onion. Stir and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the key ingredients. Add the spicy bean sauce and continuously stir for 1 minute (beware of possible splattering). Add chicken broth to the pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Gently add the tofu to the pan. Sprinkle the finely grounded peppercorn and drizzle some chili oil on top of the tofu. Allow the tofu to simmer for 3 to 5 minutes and turn the tofu once during this period.
- Finish the sauce. Add the green parts of the green onion and mix well. If the sauce appears watery, add 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch slurry and mix. Repeat again until the sauce is at your preferred thickness level. Turn heat off and serve immediately preferably with some hot and steamy jasmine rice!
Notes
Preparation is key to making this dish. There is no downtime once you start cooking so have everything ready to go before turning on the stove.
Keywords: Tofu, Vegan, Vegetarian
