Má Pó Tofu (麻婆豆腐, Pock-marked Old Mother’s Tofu)

Má Pó Dòufu (麻婆豆腐, Pock-marked Old Mother's Tofu)

Chengdu, Sichuan, China — I thought I knew what Má Pó Dòufu (麻婆豆腐, Pock-marked Old Mother’s Tofu) was until I had the real thing in Chengdu. Going to the Asian food aisle in a Western supermarket and picking up a packet of Ma Po Tofu instant sauce to help your hamburger meat won’t do justice to the real Má Pó Dòufu. Huājiāo (花椒, Sichuan peppercorn) is the magic spice I’d been missing until I moved to China; it not only numbs the heat of chillies, but suffuses the olfactories and taste buds with another woodsy-citrusy-pine-floral flavor. This 19th-century dish is a famous Chengdu dish once served by Lady Chen who was indeed pock-marked. All the fame and deliciousness of her tofu couldn’t bring her a better name, but one would be hard-pressed to find a household in Chengdu unable to whip up a plate of Má Pó Dòufu.

Ingredients：

• 1 box firm tofu (350 grams), cubed into 1-inch pieces
• 6 cups water
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 150 grams lean pork, ground
• 2 tablespoons fermented black bean (豆豉, dòuchǐ)
• 3 tablespoons fermented chili bean paste (豆瓣酱, dòubàn jiàng)
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon ginger (姜末, jiāngmò), minced
• 1 scallion, green part chopped
• 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn (花椒粉, huājiāo fěn), ground

Thickening mixture

• 1 tablespoon potato starch (can be substituted by corn starch)
• 1 tablespoon cold water

Method

1. Bring 6 cups of water with 1 tablespoon of salt to boil. Parboil the tofu cubes for 3 minutes, then drain. This removes any pongy flavor the tofu might have, especially if bought fresh from a wet market.
2. Heat oil in the wok. Add minced pork and stir-fry until loose. Stir in fermented black bean, fermented chili bean paste, chili powder, dark soy sauce, and chicken stock. Add tofu and ginger, but stir gently, careful to keep tofu from breaking. Simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Combine ingredients for the thickening mixture and add to the wok. After 1 minute, remove from heat and dust with ground Sichuan peppercorn and garnish with chopped scallion. Serve over rice.

Read about other dishes learned from Wang Ayi

• Tweet
• "&title=""">