Mapo Tofu
Silky tofu swimming in a red, numbing, deeply savoury sauce that tastes like it simmered all afternoon and absolutely did not. Fifteen minutes, one pan, and your rice never stood a chance.
- Total time
- 15 min
- Serves
- 2
- Effort
- Easy
What you need
Written for 2 — nudge the counter and the numbers follow.
0 of 10 in the basket.
How you make it
Slide the tofu cubes into a pan of barely simmering salted water and leave them there off the heat while you cook everything else; this firms them up so they do not collapse.
Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high, add the minced pork and stir-fry 3 minutes, breaking it up, until it is browned and cooked through with no pink left.
Turn the heat to medium, add the doubanjiang, black beans and garlic, and fry 1 minute until the oil turns bright red and smells toasty.
Pour in the stock, bring to a simmer, then drain the tofu and slide it in. Simmer gently 3 minutes, nudging rather than stirring so the cubes stay whole.
Stir the cornflour slurry and add it in two additions, swirling the pan until the sauce coats a spoon, about 1 minute.
Kill the heat, scatter over the ground Sichuan pepper and spring onions, and serve immediately with plenty of rice.
Read all that and thought “absolutely not”?
Completely fair. Mapo Tofu is sitting in the Chinese kitchen right now, it costs nothing, and it will never arrive.
Order it insteadMore from the Chinese kitchen
Wok breath you can taste from the doorway.