Mapo Tofu 麻婆豆腐

Overview

Chinese Name: 麻婆豆腐
English Name: Ma Po Bean Curd; Mar-Boh Tofu; Stir-fried Tofu in Hot Sauce
Category: Sichuan Cuisine川菜
Main Ingredients: Tofu

Mapo Tofu麻婆豆腐 is one of the traditional famous dishes in Sichuan Province and belongs to Sichuan cuisine川菜. This dish shows the spicy characteristics of Sichuan cuisine incisively and vividly. Nowadays, Mapo Tofu has traveled across the ocean and is popular in the United States, Canada, Britain and other countries. It has changed from a domestic dish to an internationally famous dish.

On September 10, 2018, “Mapo Tofu” was rated as one of The Top Ten Classic Dishes in Sichuan四川十大经典名菜.

Mapo Tofu was founded in the first year of Tongzhi同治 in the Qing Dynasty (1862). Beside Wanfu Bridge万福桥 in Chengdu, Sichuan, there is a store called “Chen Xingsheng restaurant陈兴盛饭铺”. When the owner Chen Chunfu陈春富 (Chen Senfu陈森富) died young, the small restaurant was operated by the landlady. The landlady had spots on her face and was called “Chen Mapo陈麻婆”.

Chen Mapo has a set of unique cooking skills for cooking tofu. The tofu cooked has complete color, flavor and extraordinary flavor, which is deeply loved by people. The tofu she created was called “Chen Mapo Tofu”, and her restaurant was later named “Chen Mapo Tofu Restaurant”.

Mapo Tofu is widely popular and spread all over the world, and there are many different practices. One of the biggest changes is to change the material of beef to pork so that diners who don’t eat beef can taste it. Later, beef was used, but using pork as raw material has been widely accepted by chefs and diners everywhere. Another change is the addition of bean paste.

How to make Mapo Tofu?

Mapo Tofu is characterized by the eight characteristics of hemp麻, spicy辣, hot烫, fragrant香, crisp酥, tender嫩, fresh鲜 and live活, also known as the eight-character proverb.

“Hemp” means that when the tofu is boiled, it should be sprinkled with an appropriate amount of pepper.
“Spicy” refers to the use of Longtan Temple Dahongpao oil pepper龙潭寺大红袍油椒 to make Douban豆瓣, and a small amount of oil and sea pepper to cook tofu, which is spicy and fragrant.
“Scalding” means that the tofu keeps the temperature after it comes out of the pot and is not easy to cool. Every time you eat it, it tastes fresh.
“Fragrance” refers to the smell that arouses appetite.
“Crisp” refers to the fried meat filling, which is golden in color and melts in the mouth.
“Tender” means that tofu is as white as jade, has ridges and corners, and is broken when twisted, so it is often eaten with a small spoon.
“Fresh” refers to the raw material of Mapo Tofu, which is fresh in color and taste.
“Live” means that long garlic sprouts stand upright in the bowl, green and blue, oily and vivid, but there is no astringent taste when eating.

Ingredients：

100g beef stuffing
A piece of tofu
250g fresh garlic sprouts
A garlic
Five slices of ginger
5g cayenne pepper
5g Sichuan Pepper四川花椒
5g Pixian bean paste郫县豆瓣酱
50g peanut oil
A little salt
A little starch
A little soy sauce

Instruction:

Step 1, Prepare a piece of gypsum tofu or bile tofu.
Step 2, Cut the tofu into small pieces and set aside.
Step 3, Prepare 100g beef stuffing or pork stuffing instead.
Step 4, Prepare 2 garlic sprouts and cut them into 1cm long for standby.
Step 5, Prepare 5g Indian chili powder and 5g Sichuan pepper powder.
Step 6, Cut the garlic and ginger into small grains and prepare 5g Pixian bean paste for standby.
Step 7, Boil a pot of hot water, add tofu and salt to cook.
Step 8, Remove the boiled tofu.
Step 9, Stir fry garlic, ginger and bean paste in a hot oil pan until fragrant.
Step 10, Add beef stuffing and stir fry until fragrant.
Step 11, Add tofu, chili powder and 50ml water to boil.
Step 12, Add garlic and stir fry until fragrant. Leave a little bit and set aside.
Step 13, Mix dry starch and soy sauce with water to make a sauce. After a few seconds, start the pot cover and put Sichuan pepper powder.
Step 14, Start the pot cover and put the tofu on a plate. Then Put a few pieces of garlic sprouts to decorate it. And then You can eat it.