Mapo Tofu Recipe

Mapo Tofu is a well-liked dish from the sichuan province which has a spicy oily red sauce coated over minced meat and delicate tofu pieces. Making Mapo tofu at home is straightforward and comes together in lower than 20 minutes which makes it a fantastic weeknight family dinner dish. Learn the best way to make the perfect mapo tofu recipe made using minced chicken, chilli beans sauce, sichuan peppercorns and soft tofu with step-by-step pictures and video. Be sure you check my vegan mapo tofu recipe and revel in it with some garlic fried rice or steamed rice.

Mapo Tofu

Mapo tofu was on my to do list for quite sometime now. Finally i made it today for lunch and it’s just amazing. Mapo tofu is nothing but delicate pieces of tofu cooked in a spicy oily chicken sauce. Traditionally they use minced pork for mapo tofu, but I used ground chicken as an alternative of pork. The result was just perfect.

What’s Mapo Tofu?

Mapo tofu is a well-liked dish from sichuan province in china. The sauce is made using ground pork cooked in chilli oil together with ginger and garlic. The major flavouring of the mapo tofu is chilli bean sauce and sichan peppercorn. The sichuan pepper gives the unique tongue numbing effect and a spicy kick to the dish.

This dish gets its taste from the spicy sauce which is made. Mapo sauce is made with ginger, garlic, green onions. Crucial ingredient in mapo tofu is the sichuan peppercorns and the black bean chilli sauce which can also be often known as chilli bean sauce. You’ll be able to easily find them in Amazon or in supermarkets too.

The advantage of creating mapo tofu at house is you may adjust the spicy level within the sauce to your preference. All the time start by adding little sichuan pepper and progressively increase it.

Also take a look at Easy Kimchi Recipe

Watch Mapo Tofu Video

Mapo Tofu Ingredients

Tofu – soak tofu in salted warm water to make the tofu pieces soft and flavourful. You need to use soft tofu or silken tofu.

Chilli Bean Sauce – you wish chilli bean sauce which is definitely stocked in shops or amazon. It gives the unique taste and flavour to the dish.

The Protein – you should use ground pork or chicken on this dish. For those who are vegetarian, you may opt to make use of crumbled tofu or finely chopped mushrooms.

Ginger & Garlic – add finely chopped ginger and garlic within the oil and stir fry for couple of minutes.

Sauces – so far as the sauces you can be needing some soy sauce and a splash of vinegar.

Sichuan pepper – a healthy grinding of sichuan pepper is added in mapo tofu which adds a singular flavour and a tongue numbing taste.

Oil – For the unique color of the mapo tofu, I prefer to use chilli oil for cooking the dish after which finish the mapo tofu with toasted sesame oil.

The right way to Make Mapo Tofu at Home

Mapo tofu may be easily made vegetarian by following the steps. Mapo tofu makes a fantastic vegetarian protein wealthy meal. For vegetarian option, you should use chopped mushrooms or crumbled tofu as an alternative of ground chicken. Add in vegetable stock as an alternative of chicken stock.

You’ve to make the mapo sauce flavourful. Heat chilli oil and fry ginger, garlic. Add in ground chicken and brown. Add in red chilli bean sauce and cook for few more minutes. Then add the remaining ingredients one after the other and simmer in chicken stock for couple of minutes.

So far as the ultimate touches. Add in tofu pieces, cornstarch slurry and sichuan pepper. Finally garnish with green onion. Thats it, Mapo tofu is prepared. Take a look at Black Bean Chicken Recipe.

The right way to Make Mapo Tofu (Stepwise Pictures)

Pre-preparation

1)Tofu is often bland in texture and taste. So to make them just a little flavourful and soft. I prefer to cut them into pieces.

Take chopped tofu in a bowl. Sprinkle top with some salt and pour some warm water over the tofu and permit them to take a seat for five to 10 minutes till use.

Mix cornstarch with some cold water and put aside.

Stir Frying Meat

2)Heat chilli oil in a wok. Add in dry red chillies, finely chopped ginger and garlic and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes on medium heat till golden and the flavour infuses with the oil.

3)Add in ground meat. I’m using ground chicken, you should use ground pork or any meat you favor. For vegetarian option, check my notes section.

Once the meat is added. Crumble them and stir fry them within the oil for 4 to five minutes till chicken gets golden color.

Making Mapo Sauce

4)Now for an important part, the spicy black bean sauce. You’ve so as to add a dollop of the black bean sauce into the chicken. Stir fry the chicken with the sauce for two minutes till it’s flavourful.

5)Now for the taste, add in dark soy sauce and a few sugar to the chicken.

6)Stir fry the chicken well with the sauce. Fry the chicken well till it’s well coated with the sauce.

Mixing Stock

7) Pour chicken stock, vinegar into the chicken. Mix well.

8)Bring the sauce to a full boil. Boil them for 3 to five minutes. At this point taste and adjust salt, sugar, soy sauce and vinegar.

Adding in tofu

9)Now add within the tofu, be certain you strain them gently in a sieve or use a slotted spoon to softly remove the tofu from the water and add it into the sauce.

Mix the tofu into the sauce and cook for couple of minutes on medium heat.

10)Pour the cornstarch slurry into the sauce and blend well. It would begin to thicken almost immediately. Now reduce the flame and cook on low for two to three minutes.

Mapo Tofu Ending Touches

11)Sprinkle in sichuan pepper, chopped spring onions and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil into the mapo tofu ultimately before take it off the warmth.

12)Serve mapo tofu with steamed rice or noodles.

Expert Suggestions

About Tofu – Use soft tofu or silken tofu for best result. But firm tofu may be used as well. Add tofu ultimately, so it doesn’t crumble. Be gentle when mixing mapo tofu after adding tofu.

Flavouring Oil – For those who cannot find chilli oil, heat some oil in a pan, add in chilli flakes within the oil and switch off the warmth. Drain it. Now you’ve gotten homemade chilli oil. For those who do not have chilli oil, use normal oil.

Protein to make use of – As an alternative of ground chicken, you should use ground pork , ground turkey as well.

Vegetarian & Vegan Option – Mapo tofu may be easily made vegetarian by following the steps. Mapo tofu makes a fantastic vegetarian protein wealthy meal. For vegetarian option, you should use chopped mushrooms or crumbled tofu as an alternative of ground chicken. Add in vegetable stock as an alternative of chicken stock.

About Sichuan pepper – Sichuan pepper is sort of strong, start by adding little, then add more. It’s best to make use of freshly ground sichuan peppercorn. For those who do not have sichuan peppercorn you should use normal black pepper as well.

Serving – Mapo tofu may be served with plain rice or fried rice.

FAQ

What’s mapo tofu product of?

Mapo tofu is a well-liked dish from sichuan province in china. The sauce is made using ground pork cooked in chilli oil together with ginger and garlic. The major flavouring of the mapo tofu is chilli bean sauce and sichan peppercorn.

Is mapo tofu healthy?

Mapo tofu has some type of protein like chicken, pork added. Also the major ingredient is silken tofu which is high in protein. So mapo tofu is certainly one of the protein wealthy dish you may have.

What does mapo tofu taste like?

Mapo tofu is a spicy tofu dish. The sichuan pepper gives the unique tongue numbing effect and a spicy kick to the dish.

Is mapo tofu vegan?

Mapo tofu may be easily made vegetarian by following the steps. Mapo tofu makes a fantastic vegetarian protein wealthy meal. For vegetarian option, you should use chopped mushrooms or crumbled tofu as an alternative of ground chicken. Add in vegetable stock as an alternative of chicken stock.

More Tofu Recipes to try

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If you’ve gotten any questions not covered on this post and for those who need assistance, leave me a comment or mail me @[email protected] and I’ll help as soon as I can.

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