Sichuan Mapo Tofu 20-min 麻婆豆腐

My Chinese Recipe Menu

• How I Feel About This Mapo Tofu
• Story Behind the Mapo Tofu
• Original Name
• Cooking Tips
• Cooking Time
• Ingredients to Make Mapo Tofu
• Food
• Seasonings
• How to Make Mapo Tofu
• Preparation
• Cooking

How I Feel About this Mapo Tofu

Mapo Tofu is one of the most iconic dishes from Sichuan cuisine. Mapo Tofu features a spicy and hot flavor, with the taste coming from minced meat and hot sauce combined with the soft texture of tofu. While Mapo Tofu may seem complicated, it's actually quick to cook. If you enjoy spicy food, you should definitely try this mapo tofu recipe. If not, you can adjust the spice level to suit your taste. 

In 1861, a woman named Chen Chunfu ran a restaurant in Chengdu. Her specialty was a dish of tofu stuffed with meat, which became very popular in the city and earned its own reputation. The original customers were passing porters who couldn't remember her name. They only remembered her face, which had a few pockmarks. In Chinese, pockmarks refer to "Ma" , and "Po" means an elderly lady.

The dish became known as Ma Po Tofu, named after Chen Chunfu. Word of mouth spread the fame of her meat-stuffed tofu, and eventually, MaPo Tofu became known throughout China and the world. 

• Translated English Name: Mapo Tofu
• Original Chinese Pronunciation:   Ma Po Dou Fu  麻婆豆腐

Note: You may use the Chinese name to order in China because the translated English name of the dishes might be different in every restaurant. 

• How to open the box Tofu? Cut open the four corners at the bottom of the box to let air in, and the tofu will easily slide out of the box intact. 
• Taste the mapo tofu before it's done so that it won't be too spicy
•  If the oil splashes, you may turn down the heat or move the pan. Make sure no water goes into the oil because that's how the splashes come from
•  For mince, in the original recipe of mapo tofu hundred years ago, we used beef but now we use pork more. That's mainly because pork is more popular than beef in China. 

Prep Time:  10 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time:  20 mins

Serving: 2

Food

Mince (pork or beef)  — 100g/3.5oz

Tofu — 1 box 400g/14.1oz

Chili — 1 piece

Garlic — 2 cloves

Green Onion — 1 piece

Water — 1 cup

Seasonings

Oil — 3 tablespoons

Douban Sauce — 2 tablespoons

Sichuan Pepper — 1 tablespoon

Chili Powder — 1 tablespoon 

White Pepper Powder — 1 teaspoon

 

Preparation

1. Cut green onion, chili and garlic and leave them aside. 
2. Cut Tofu into small cubes, e.g. 1.5cm *1.5 cm and put these tofu cubes into a plate. 

 

Cooking 

1. Heat a cold frying pan to warm and add 1 tbsp of oil. Then, add the minced meat, fry it until cooked, and set aside.
2. We make the mapo tofu sauce first. Add 2 tbsps of oil to the hot frying pan. Add 2 tbsps of douban sauce, then add green onion, garlic and chili, frying until fragrant.

3. Add 1 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of Sichuan pepper, 1 tablespoon of chili powder, and 1 teaspoon of white pepper powder. Boil the mapo tofu sauce for 7 minutes.

4. Add the cooked minced meat and tofu into mapo tofu sauce. Boil for a few minutes until the sauce thickens (cornstarch water may help if there is too much water but I usually don't). Garnish the mapo tofu with fresh green onion.