Mapo Tofu

Recipe Ingredients

2 x 300g blocks of Silken Tofu

Pat dry using paper toweling and gently cut into 5cm squares

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 teaspoon chili oil

500g beef mince

3 tablespoons of chili bean paste

(I used Korean Gochujang)

2 tablespoons salted black beans

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 teaspoon ginger, grated

3 tablespoons Shaoxing (Chinese Rice Wine)

2 tablespoons caster sugar

1 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns

500ml chicken stock

2 tablespoon cornflour

4 spring onions, chopped

Steamed Rice

1 cup long grain rice

1 1/2 cups water

Equipment you need

Medium saucepan

Wok

Stirring utensils

4 large bowls for serving

Recipe adapted from "Adam's Big Pot: Easy Family Dinners" by Adam Liaw (Hachette Australia, 2014)

Eastern Asian Recipes | Asian Food

This is a Sichuanese dish which contains tofu and the Sichuan peppercorn which gives the dish a bit of a tingle in the mouth. The dish is quite saucy and also contains black beans and pork or beef mince (however these could be left out if you were vegetarian).

The history of the dish dates back to 1862 and the Qing Dynasty. A couple developed the dish for their restaurant named Chen Xingsheng Restaurant, located in Chengdu. The dish was made for oil porters who used the nearby bridge. Its name comes from the wife who had a pock marked face, the “ma” means “pock” and “po” means “elderly woman”. The restaurant was later renamed to Chen Mapo Tofu Restaurant.