Mapo Tofu

Overview

Introduction: Mapo tofu is a famous product in Sichuan cuisine, one of the eight major cuisines of Han China. The main raw material is tofu, which is characterized by spicy, spicy, hot, fragrant, crispy, tender, fresh and lively, which is called the eight-character motto. The main ingredients include tofu, minced beef (pork can also be used), chili and Sichuan peppercorns, etc. The numbness comes from Sichuan peppercorns and the spiciness comes from chili peppers. This dish highlights the spicy characteristics of Sichuan cuisine. This dish was created around the early years of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (after 1874) by Chen Liu, the proprietress of a small restaurant called Chen Xingsheng Restaurant in Wanfuqiao, a northern suburb of Chengdu. Because Chen Liu had pockmarks on her face, she was known as Chen Mapo, and the roasted tofu she invented was called Chen Mapo Tofu. This dish, improved by the masters of Shuimu Huating in Chengdu, is more suitable for home production. (The production venue for this dish is kindly provided by Chengdu Shuimu Huating)

Tags

• hot dishes
• chicken powder
• cooking wine
• ground beef
• lao doufu
• oil
• pixian doubanjiang
• sichuan pepper powder
• spicy sauce
• water starch
• chopped green onion
• salt

Ingredients

Steps

1. 1 Cut the tofu into 1CM square pieces

   

2. 2 Mince the beef, chop the green onion and set aside

   

3. 3 Boil water in the pot just enough to cover the tofu, and add a little salt

   

4. 4 Add 5ML of dark soy sauce, boil for 1 minute, remove the tofu, drain and set aside

   

5. 5 Add 50ML of oil to the pot and heat until 7 degrees Celsius (the pot just starts to smoke)

   

6. 6 Add Pixian Doubanjiang (the doubanjiang should be minced in advance), turn down the heat and stir-fry constantly to prevent the oil temperature from being too high and the color of the soup base turning black

   

7. 7 Add minced beef and stir-fry

   

8. 8 Add a little salt, a little chicken powder, and an appropriate amount of cooking wine to the pot

   

9. 9 Add a little spicy sauce

   

10. 10 Flip the tofu you just cooked into the pot. Don't stir the pot at this time. Just shake the pot gently and use the back of a spatula to push the tofu to prevent it from sticking to the pot.

    

11. 11 Add boiling water to cover the tofu. When adding water, hook up the first water starch, when boiling, hook up the second water starch, and before cooking, hook up the third water starch. The water starch can be thinner, but don't make it too thick.

    

12. 12 Add boiling water to cover the tofu. When adding water, hook up the first water starch, when boiling, hook up the second water starch, and before cooking, hook up the third water starch. The water starch can be thinner, but don't make it too thick.

    

13. 13 Add chopped green onion, stir-fry evenly, and remove from the pot

    

14. 14 Sprinkle the prepared Mapo Tofu evenly with Sichuan pepper powder, and this Mapo Tofu dish made by the master chef of Shuimu Huating Club in Chengdu is complete!