House recipe
🌶️ Mapo tofu
Soft tofu simmered with pork mince in a chilli bean sauce, finished with toasted Sichuan pepper.
Allergens. Contains: Soy, Gluten. May contain, depending on the brands you buy: none listed.
This is based on the ingredient list only. Always check the labels of what you buy for “may contain” warnings.
Ingredients
- 400 g silken tofu, cut into 2 cm cubes
- 150 g pork mince
- 2 tbsp chilli bean paste (doubanjiang)
- 1 tsp sichuan peppercorns
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 cm fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 3 spring onion, whites and greens sliced separately
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp cornflour (maizena), mixed with 3 tbsp cold water
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp salt, for the tofu water
- 250 g jasmine rice
Method
- Cook the rice. Toast the Sichuan peppercorns in a dry pan until fragrant, then crush them coarsely.
- Slide the tofu cubes into a pan of gently simmering salted water for 2 minutes so they firm up, then lift them out carefully.
- Heat the oil in a wok and fry the pork mince over high heat until browned and a little crisp.
- Lower the heat, add the chilli bean paste and chilli flakes and fry for a minute until the oil turns red. Add the garlic, ginger and spring onion whites.
- Pour in about 250 ml water with the soy sauce and sugar, bring to a simmer and gently add the tofu. Simmer for 5 minutes, shaking the pan rather than stirring.
- Stir the cornflour mixture, add it in two goes and simmer until the sauce coats the tofu.
- Scatter over the crushed Sichuan pepper and spring onion greens and serve over the rice.