Mapo Tofu has always been one of my favorite dishes. We actually did a recipe for it a while back that can be found here. We’ve cooked it enough times (and seen my mom cook it) that we feel the need to revisit this recipe for some adjustments. Firstly,when preparing the tofu,it’s important to cube the tofu before submerging it in hot water. The point of this step is to soften the tofu so that it’s nice and tender in the final dish. Dunking the whole brick in hot water does nothing to the parts of the tofu in the center. The second thing that we’ve changed is that we add the cornstarch mixture after the spicy sauce and the peppercorn oil. Doing it this way ensures that the spices will be thoroughly integrated with the tofu and the meat instead of sludging around with the cornstarch. Hope this helps improve your mapo tofu like it helped with our’s.
jQuery(“document”).ready(function(){jQuery(‘#ngg-gallery-35-245′).galleryView({panel_width:600,panel_height:400,frame_width:40,frame_height:40,transition_interval:0,overlay_color:‘#222′,overlay_text_color:‘white’,caption_text_color:‘#222′,background_color:‘transparent’,border:‘none’,nav_theme:‘dark’,easing:‘easeInOutQuad’});});If you’re diligent,you may remember that there was another mapo tofu entry. Well,this one is much truer to my Mom’s recipe,enough that it warrants an entirely new rewrite! Ingredients:1 brick of tofu 1 clump of zha cai (pickeled cabbage) 0.5 lbs ground pork 1 tbsp chopped ginger 1 tsp cooking wine 1-2 tsp black pepper 1 tbsp corn starch 1 cup water 1 tbsp hua jiao you (pepper oil) chili sauce Directions:Prep the tofu by submerging it in hot water. After a couple minutes,chop the tofu into small cubes and dice the zha cai. If you’re using pre-diced zha cai,about half a cup will do. Also take the time to prepare the mixture of corn starch and water. Heat about 3 tbsp oil in a pan When oil is hot,add ginger and cook until fragrant Add the pork and the cooking wine and cook until the water from the pork is mostly evaporated When the water is evaporated,turn the heat to medium and add the zha cai and the black pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the tofu and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the corn starch mixture and stir until the the contents start to thicken. Add the hua jiao you and the chili sauce. I usually put in two tbsp since Amanda doesn’t like things too spicy (manda –hey i’m getting better!). And that’s it. As an optional garnish,my mom sometimes adds three tbsp of peas just to give the dish some color.  |  | |
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