Wagner-Arbitration

Mapo Tofu

Print

Mapo Tofu

Recipe by Giulio Polisi
5.0 from 1 vote

Mapo tofu is one of the most famous dishes from the Sichuan region in China. Ma translates to “pockmarks”, while po refers to an older woman. Together these reference the dish’s inventor, Mrs Chen, an elderly lady with smallpox scars – the dish itself is one of the tastiest things you will ever eat: Silky smooth and tender tofu, in a rich, spicy and umami filled sauce. The dish combines two types of spiciness: both conventional “heat” spiciness and the characteristic málà (numbing spiciness) flavour of Sichuan cuisine. I love it!

Course: SecondiCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Medium
Servings
+
-

4

servings
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes
Total time

45

minutes

Ingredients

  • Two blocks of tofu (I prefer silken but regular also works)

  • 250 g 250 of ground beef (optional)

  • 4 cloves 4 of garlic

  • Some ginger

  • 4 4 scallions

  • Vegetable oil

  • 2 tbsp 2 Doubanjiang (fermented chilli broad bean paste)

  • 2 tbsp 2 Douchi (fermented black bean paste)

  • 1 tbsp 1 sugar

  • 1 tsp 1 chilli powder

  • 1 1/2 tsp 1 1/2 Sichuan peppercorns, ground

  • 150 ml 150 of vegetable broth

  • Some corn starch

Directions

  • Finely chop the spring onions (using only the white and light green part), garlic and ginger.
  • In a pot, with a bit of vegetable oil, fry the beef until golden brown, flip, then break up with a wooden spatula and continue frying until everything has been browned evenly. Remove the beef and leave the fat in the pot.
  • Add the finely chopped veggies and ginger until fragrant. Add the doubanjiang, douchi, chilli and the peppercorns and deglaze with the broth.
  • Prepare a corn starch slurry by mixing equal parts corn starch and water and add to the pot until the desired thickness has been reached. Add some sugar to soften the spiciness if required.
  • Put the beef back in (if applicable). Cube the tofu into approx. 1 cm cubes and add to the sauce.
  • Combine and serve over fresh rice with the green part of the scallions, roughly chopped.
  • If you want to do the vegan version, simply leave out the meat and start directly with the vegetables.

Equipment

  • Pot or wok
  • Wooden spatula
  • Rice cooker or saucepan

Notes

  • If you want to do the vegan version, simply leave out the meat and start directly with the vegetables.
  • Serve over fresh rice.

About Wagner Arbitration

The law firm WAGNER Arbitration has its offices in Berlin and specializes in dispute resolution with a focus on arbitration. In addition, the firm offers comprehensive counseling services related to domestic and international business disputes and transactions.