Mapo tofu

One of the skills I started developing since living in the UK is cooking. It’s always been my brother who’s the good cook in the family (well after my parents of course) and it has never been a passion of mine. But since living in the UK, I had to be independent and cook my own meals because, let’s face it, no matter how I love eating out, dining out all the time can be quite expensive.

Well I’ve been introduced to Mapo tofu purely because it’s my boyfriend’s favourite Chinese dish. It is a classic Sichuan recipe of tofu, some spices and a good portion of chilli bean paste.

The recipe I have tried and have been using so far is made up of ready-made chilli bean paste. I will probably update this post in the future once I have mastered preparing my own sauces.

So here is my own take of mapo tofu (vegetarian)

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• small ginger, chopped
• 1 medium onion, cut into small pieces
• 1 tsp Sichuan pepper
• Dried black trumpet mushroom
• White cup mushroom, sliced in quarters
• 1 pack of soft or firm tofu (your choice, both are nice options)
• Worcestershire sauce
• Soy sauce
• Chilli bean paste
• Mince pork (for non-veggie option)
• Frozen peas
• Sesame seeds (for garnish)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Paprika
• 1 cube vegetable stock dissolved in 1 cup hot water
• Ground coriander

Method:

• Cut the tofu in cubes. I personally prefer small cubes so they can absorb all the flavours easily. If you chose to use firm tofu and you wanted the tofu to be firm throughout, boil water in the kettle and soak the tofu cubes. For soft tofu, you don’t need to soak them however make sure you wash the tofu before cooking. Set aside.
• Heat your wok or pan under medium heat. Add the oil and make sure it’s really hot before you start sautéing.
• Sauté the onion, garlic and ginger. Add a pinch of salt and ground pepper to taste.
• Then add the ground Sichuan pepper. I prefer mine whole but grinding them will bring in more flavour to your recipe.
• Once the garlic is golden brown, add the mince pork or veggie mince. In this recipe, I didn’t put any meat nor meat alternative.
• For meaty version, once the pork is crispy, add the mushrooms. For the black trumpet mushroom, make sure you soak this 1 hour before you start cooking (or depending on the pack instructions).
• Next, you add the chilli bean paste, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. I don’t like to put measurements here as we have our own preferences. Just make sure that you taste every now and then to control the flavour in accordance with your preferences.
• Add paprika to taste.
• Add vegetable stock for more flavour.
• Let it simmer for a few minutes and stir to avoid sticking to the wok.
• When the sauce starts to thicken, add the tofu and frozen peas. Let it simmer again for a few minutes.
• Serve on top of steamed rice and garnish with toasted sesame seeds. I mixed steamed rice with quinoa for a healthier option.

The chilli bean paste is already spicy but if you want a extra kick, add chilli flakes. Enjoy!

Here are some pictures: