Ma Po Tofu
Ma Po Tofu is one of the more typical examples of Sichuan cuisine and demonstrates its two kinds of idiosyncratic spice: the first being the intense heat of first tasting the sauce, and the second being a sort of numbing spiciness, known as mala. The dish is very rustic, requiring little time to prepare. Hey, if the leprous pock-marked dying old Chinese lady could do it, you can too!
Some of these ingredients may seem hard to find, but odds are they’re all available at your local Asian market. As with most translated names, some of these may be slightly inaccurate or have other names. Tōban jan (豆板醤) is a pungent red sauce with chili and chunks of soybean. Many people just call it “chili bean paste” but I find it misleading, since there must be dozens of kinds of chili bean paste. Do note that different brands may be of different intensities, and – more importantly – different salt levels. Check the nutritional information and try to find the one with the least sodium (and monosodium glutamate). Tenmen jan (甜麺醤) is a viscous deep brown paste with a sweet, slightly salty flavor. Tōchi jan (豆チ醤 – maybe “dou chi jiang”?) is a similar sauce with chunks of what look like mummified beans. But they adds a world of flavor! If you can get past the looks (and surely you can, if you’re eating tofu in the first place), it’s worth adding to your pantry. Note that all the sauce names used are Japanese. I have no idea what the Chinese terms are and I’m sure they would make shopping much easier!
Ma Po Tofu (麻婆豆腐)
Adapted from Chen Kenichi (via g-chef.com)
Ingredients
- 2 packages firm silken tofu
- Canola oil
- 125 g lean minced pork (mince it yourself, au couteau, you lazy bum. It’s only 125g.)
- [A] Aromatics
- 2 green onions (white base only)
- 2 tsp sichuan peppercorns
- [B] Sauces
- 2 tbsp toban jan (chili bean sauce)
- 2 tbsp tenmen jan (sweet bean sauce)
- 2 tbsp touchi jan (fermented bean sauce)
- [C] Stock
- 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
- 1 tbsp potato starch
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- [D] Garnish
- 2 green onions
Prep: Blanch tofu until firm, 2 minutes. Slice green onions on the bias until you reach the green part, then cut 1” slices of the green tips. Reserve wilted tips. If you’re not sure of the quality of your stock, you should consider fortifying it. Place reserved wilted onion tips, dried shiitake mushroom, dried chinese dates, dried jujube, dried goji berry, and gelatin in a saucepan with stock (any of these can be ommitted). Bloom gelatin 8 minutes without heat. Simmer stock until ready to use.
Heat wok until it smokes. Pour a generous amount of oil down the side and swirl it around. Drain excess oil and discard. Stir-fry [A] until they begin to color. Add ground meat and cook until crisp. If water accumulates in the base of your wok, the temperature was too low; move the meat up the sides and reduce the liquid before continuing.
Add [B] and continue to cook until they form a caramel-like crust on the meat. Mix [C] off the heat to form a slurry, and then add to the stir-fry. Mixing the starch in warm liquid may cause it to form lumps. Add tofu and simmer. Just before serving, add the 1” slices of green onion. Serve on a bed of Chinese rice and garnish with remaining onion.