"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."
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.
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.
Also check out Instant Kimchi Recipe
HOW TO MAKE MAPO TOFU
Tofu: soak tofu in hot water to make the tofu pieces soft. You can use soft tofu or silken tofu.
Red 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. Check my notes for vegetarian option.
Cooking the sauce: heat 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.
Final touches. add in tofu pieces, cornflour slurry and sichuan pepper. Finally garnish with green onion. Thats it, Mapo tofu is ready.
Mapo tofu can be easily made vegetarian by following the steps. Mapo tofu makes a great vegetarian protein rich meal.
FOR VEGETARIAN MAPO TOFU
- Instead of ground chicken use sliced mushroom.
- Add in vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
Check out Black Bean Chicken Recipe too
TIPS & TRICKS FOR BEST MAPO TOFU
- 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.
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LOOKING FOR MORE TOFU RECIPES,
Mapo Tofu Recipe
Ingredients
- 200 grams Soft Tofu
- 4 tbsp Chilli Oil
- 3 piece Dry Red Chilli
- 4 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 2 tbsp Minced Ginger
- 250 grams Minced Chicken
- 2 tbsp Chilli Bean Paste
- 2 tsp Soy Sauce
- 2 tsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Vinegar
- to taste Salt
- 2 cups Chicken Stock
- 1 tsp Ground Sichuan Peppercorn
- 2 Piece Green Onion
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
Instructions
- Mix cornstarch with water to a slurry. Set aside.
- Cut tofu pieces 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.
- Add chicken stock and mix well. Bring it to a boil.
- Add in tofu cubes and mix well. Simmer for two minutes or so.
- Add in cornflour slurry and mix till it thickens.
- Add in sichuan pepper powder and mix well.
- Garnish with green onions and serve.
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.
Pictorial:
1)Take all your ingredients
2)Soak tofu in hot water. Mix cornflour with water and set aside.
3)Heat chilli oil in a pan
4)Add in dry red chillies
5)Add in minced garlic
6)Add in minced ginger
7)Stir fry for few minutes.
8)Add in minced chicken.
9)Mix well
10)stir fry and cook till chicken is browned
11)Add in black bean sauce.
12)Add it in.
13)Stir fry for 1 min
14)Add in soy sauce
14)Add in sugar.
15)Add in chicken stock.
16)Mix well
17)Add in vinegar.
18)Boil it for 3 to 5 mins.
19)Add in tofu pieces.
19)Mix well.
20)Add in cornflour slurry.
21)Add in sichuan pepper powder.
22)Mix well. Now the sauce is thicken and mapo tofu is ready
23)Add in chopped green onion.
24)Time to serve this delicious mapo tofu.
25)Serve
26)taste amazing with rice.
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