Mapo Tofu is a popular dish from the sichuan province which has a spicy oily red sauce coated over minced meat and delicate tofu pieces. Making Mapo tofu at home is easy and comes together in less than 20 minutes which makes it a great weeknight family dinner dish. Learn how to make the best mapo tofu recipe made using minced chicken, chilli beans sauce, sichuan peppercorns and soft tofu with step by step pictures and video. Make sure you check my vegan mapo tofu recipe and enjoy it with some garlic fried rice or steamed rice.
Mapo Tofu
Mapo tofu was on my to do list for quite sometime now. Finally i made it today for lunch and it is just amazing. Mapo tofu is nothing but delicate pieces of tofu cooked in a spicy oily chicken sauce. Traditionally they use minced pork for mapo tofu, but I used ground chicken instead of pork. The result was just perfect.
Table of Contents
What is Mapo Tofu?
Mapo tofu is a popular dish from sichuan province in china. The sauce is made using ground pork cooked in chilli oil along with ginger and garlic. The main flavouring of the mapo tofu is chilli bean sauce and sichan peppercorn. The sichuan pepper gives the unique tongue numbing effect and a spicy kick to the dish.
This dish gets its taste from the spicy sauce which is made. Mapo sauce is made with ginger, garlic, green onions. The most important ingredient in mapo tofu is the sichuan peppercorns and the black bean chilli sauce which is also known as chilli bean sauce. You can easily find them in Amazon or in supermarkets too.
The advantage of making mapo tofu at home is you can adjust the spicy level in the sauce to your preference. Always start by adding little sichuan pepper and gradually increase it.
Also check out Instant Kimchi Recipe
Watch Mapo Tofu Video
Mapo Tofu Ingredients
Tofu - soak tofu in salted warm water to make the tofu pieces soft and flavourful. You can use soft tofu or silken tofu.
Chilli Bean Sauce - you need chilli bean sauce which is easily available in stores or amazon. It gives the unique taste and flavour to the dish.
The Protein - you can use ground pork or chicken in this dish. If you are vegetarian, you can opt to use crumbled tofu or finely chopped mushrooms.
Ginger & Garlic - add finely chopped ginger and garlic in the oil and stir fry for few minutes.
Sauces - as far as the sauces you will be needing some soy sauce and a dash of vinegar.
Sichuan pepper - a healthy grinding of sichuan pepper is added in mapo tofu which adds a unique flavour and a tongue numbing taste.
Oil - For the unique colour of the mapo tofu, I like to use chilli oil for cooking the dish and then finish the mapo tofu with toasted sesame oil.
How to Make Mapo Tofu at Home
Mapo tofu can be easily made vegetarian by following the steps. Mapo tofu makes a great vegetarian protein rich meal. For vegetarian option, you can use chopped mushrooms or crumbled tofu instead of ground chicken. Add in vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
You have to make the mapo sauce flavourful. Heat chilli oil and fry ginger, garlic. Add in ground chicken and brown. Add in red chilli bean sauce and cook for few more minutes. Then add the remaining ingredients one by one and simmer in chicken stock for few minutes.
As far as the final touches. Add in tofu pieces, cornstarch slurry and sichuan pepper. Finally garnish with green onion. Thats it, Mapo tofu is ready. Check out Black Bean Chicken Recipe.
How to Make Mapo Tofu (Stepwise Pictures)
Pre-preparation
1)Tofu is usually bland in texture and taste. So to make them a little flavourful and soft. I like to cut them into pieces.
Take chopped tofu in a bowl. Sprinkle top with some salt and pour some warm water over the tofu and allow them to sit for 5 to 10 minutes till use.
Mix cornstarch with some cold water and set aside.
Stir Frying Meat
2)Heat chilli oil in a wok. Add in dry red chillies, finely chopped ginger and garlic and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes on medium heat till golden and the flavour infuses with the oil.
3)Add in ground meat. I am using ground chicken, you can use ground pork or any meat you prefer. For vegetarian option, check my notes section.
Once the meat is added. Crumble them and stir fry them in the oil for 4 to 5 minutes till chicken gets golden colour.
Making Mapo Sauce
4)Now for the most important part, the spicy black bean sauce. You have to add a dollop of the black bean sauce into the chicken. Stir fry the chicken with the sauce for 2 minutes till it is flavourful.
5)Now for the taste, add in dark soy sauce and some sugar to the chicken.
6)Stir fry the chicken well with the sauce. Fry the chicken well till it is well coated with the sauce.
Mixing Stock
7) Pour chicken stock, vinegar into the chicken. Mix well.
8)Bring the sauce to a full boil. Boil them for 3 to 5 minutes. At this point taste and adjust salt, sugar, soy sauce and vinegar.
Adding in tofu
9)Now add in the tofu, make sure you strain them gently in a sieve or use a slotted spoon to gently remove the tofu from the water and add it into the sauce.
Mix the tofu into the sauce and cook for few minutes on medium heat.
10)Pour the cornstarch slurry into the sauce and mix well. It will start to thicken almost immediately. Now reduce the flame and cook on low for 2 to 3 minutes.
Mapo Tofu Finishing Touches
11)Sprinkle in sichuan pepper, chopped spring onions and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil into the mapo tofu in the end before take it off the heat.
12)Serve mapo tofu with steamed rice or noodles.
Expert Tips
About Tofu - Use soft tofu or silken tofu for best result. But firm tofu can be used as well. Add tofu in the end, so it doesn't crumble. Be gentle when mixing mapo tofu after adding tofu.
Flavouring Oil - If you cannot find chilli oil, heat some oil in a pan, add in chilli flakes in the oil and turn off the heat. Drain it. Now you have homemade chilli oil. If you don't have chilli oil, use normal oil.
Protein to use - Instead of ground chicken, you can use ground pork , ground turkey as well.
Vegetarian & Vegan Option - Mapo tofu can be easily made vegetarian by following the steps. Mapo tofu makes a great vegetarian protein rich meal. For vegetarian option, you can use chopped mushrooms or crumbled tofu instead of ground chicken. Add in vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
About Sichuan pepper - Sichuan pepper is quite strong, start by adding little, then add more. It is best to use freshly ground sichuan peppercorn. If you don't have sichuan peppercorn you can use normal black pepper as well.
Serving - Mapo tofu can be served with plain rice or fried rice.
FAQ
What is mapo tofu made of?
Mapo tofu is a popular dish from sichuan province in china. The sauce is made using ground pork cooked in chilli oil along with ginger and garlic. The main flavouring of the mapo tofu is chilli bean sauce and sichan peppercorn.
Is mapo tofu healthy?
Mapo tofu has some kind of protein like chicken, pork added. Also the main ingredient is silken tofu which is high in protein. So mapo tofu is one of the protein rich dish you can have.
What does mapo tofu taste like?
Mapo tofu is a spicy tofu dish. The sichuan pepper gives the unique tongue numbing effect and a spicy kick to the dish.
Is mapo tofu vegan?
Mapo tofu can be easily made vegetarian by following the steps. Mapo tofu makes a great vegetarian protein rich meal. For vegetarian option, you can use chopped mushrooms or crumbled tofu instead of ground chicken. Add in vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
More Tofu Recipes to try
📖 Recipe Card
Mapo Tofu Recipe | Mapo Tofu with Chicken
Ingredients
- 200 grams Soft Tofu (Use Silken Tofu)
- 1 tsp Salt
- Warm water
For Mapo Tofu Sauce
- 3 tbsp Chilli Oil
- 3 piece Dry Red Chilli
- 4 tbsp Garlic Minced
- 2 tbsp Ginger Minced
- 250 grams Minced Chicken
- 2 tbsp Chilli Bean Paste
- 2 tsp Soy Sauce or to taste
- 2 tsp Sugar or to taste
- 1 tsp Vinegar or to taste
- to taste Salt
- 2 cups Chicken Stock
For Cornstarch Slurry
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch
- 3 tbsp Cold Water
Mapo Tofu Finishing Touches
- 1 tsp Ground Sichuan Peppercorn
- 2 Piece Green Onion
- 1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
Instructions
- Mix cornstarch with water to a form a slurry. Set aside. Cut tofu into cubes, take them in a bowl. Sprinkle with a tsp of salt and cover them with hot water and set aside.
- Heat chilli oil in a wok. Add in dry red chilli and fry for a minute. Add in minced ginger and garlic and fry on low heat for 30 seconds. Add in ground chicken and stir fry with little salt till it is cooked. Keep mixing so it gets crumbly.
- Now add in chilli bean sauce and stir fry for a minute. Add in soy sauce, sugar and vinegar and stir well. Pour chicken stock and mix well. Bring it to a boil. Add in tofu cubes and mix well. Simmer for two minutes. Slowly drizzle in the cornstarch slurry and mix till it thickens.
- Finally add in sichuan pepper, chopped green onions, toasted sesame oil and serve with rice.
Video
Notes
- Use soft tofu or silken tofu for best result. But firm tofu can be used as well.
- If you cannot find chilli oil, heat some oil in a pan, add in chilli flakes in the oil and turn off the heat. Drain it. Now you have homemade chilli oil.
- If you don't have chilli oil, use normal oil.
- Instead of ground chicken, you can use ground pork too.
- Sichuan pepper is quite strong, start by adding little, then add more.
- Mapo tofu can be served with plain rice or fried rice.
- Add tofu in the end, so it doesn't crumble.
- Be delicate when mixing mapo tofu after adding tofu.
Nutrition
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