【Sichuan】Mapo Tofu

Overview

The legendary Mapo, whose real surname is Chen, made a living by making tofu. During the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, Wanfu Bridge in Chengdu was a gathering place for merchants. Mrs. Chen opened a tofu shop here. Because of her excellent cooking skills, the tofu she made was white and tender, and the cooked tofu dishes had a unique flavor. Therefore, the business became more and more prosperous. Unexpectedly, this actually aroused her jealousy against the proprietress of a tofu shop. One day, a passer-by came to Mrs. Chen's shop carrying two kilograms of freshly minced beef and sat down. The proprietress of the tofu shop opposite took advantage of her youth and beauty to make secret glances at the guest. The customer was so surprised that she forgot about the bag of minced beef and walked straight to her door. Mrs. Chen felt angry and annoyed when she saw this. At this time, a few more customers came in. When they saw the minced beef on the table, they said they wanted to eat beef with fried tofu. Mrs. Chen didn't want to use other people's minced beef, but the customer was in urgent need of it, so she cooked the minced beef with tofu for the customer. Unexpectedly, the dish was fragrant and flavorful. More and more people ate it, and the business was extremely hot and continuous. The proprietress of the grocery store opposite was angry and jealous when she saw her, so she spoke ill of Mrs. Chen in front of her customers and called her ugly and pockmarked. Mrs. Chen was a generous person. Faced with all this, she dismissed it, kept her cool, and worked hard to run her own business. Later, she simply hung a big sign of Chen Mapo Tofu on the door of her house. Later, the reputation of this shop became more and more popular, and Mapo Tofu, a popular delicacy, became famous all over the world, making it the most famous tofu dish among the people. The first time I ate Mapo Tofu, I felt it was very numb and spicy, but I would eat two bowls of rice as long as this dish is available. Tofu has high nutritional value and can be made in various ways. This Mapo Tofu dish is spicy and is one of the Sichuan specialties.

Tags

• hot dishes
• sichuan cuisine
• doubanjiang
• fresh sauce
• grated ginger
• onions
• rapeseed oil
• starch
• tofu
• zanthoxylum bungeanum
• minced garlic

Ingredients

Steps

1. 1 Prepare materials. Chop ginger and garlic. Cut green onions into small pieces. Cut the tofu into appropriate size pieces.

   

2. 2 Pour an appropriate amount of rapeseed oil into the pot, add ginger and minced garlic and stir-fry until fragrant.

   

3. 3 Add bean paste and saute pepper until fragrant.

   

4. 4 Add a small amount of water to thicken the starch and pour it into the pot.

   

5. 5 When the water boils, add the tofu cubes and bring to a simmer over low heat.

   

6. 6 Add a few drops of fresh sauce before serving.

   

7. 7 Squeeze the green onion with a soft detergent to dilute the excess water. Cut into small pieces and sprinkle on the plated tofu.