Mapo Toufu @ 麻婆豆腐

Mapo toufu has always been one of my favourite dishes and quick meal options for comfort food.

You can add minced pork, prawns, mixed vegetables and even minced chicken to the toufu..it is just a very saucy meat and toufu dish to pair with rice.

Blogging here for my buddy Seok who cooks very healthy dishes unlike me..but hope this dish brings her comfort too.

A little story into Mapo Toufu..

Mapo tofu originated in Chengdu, China, in the late 1800s during the Qing Dynasty, and was named after its inventor, an elderly woman with smallpox scars known as "Ma Po" or "Pockmarked Grandma". The dish, a spicy Sichuan specialty featuring tofu, ground meat (traditionally beef or pork), and a numbing sauce, became a hit among locals, particularly oil porters who would frequent her small eatery. The simple yet flavorful dish, which includes ingredients like doubanjiang (fermented chili bean paste) and Sichuan peppercorns, grew in popularity through word of mouth, eventually becoming a Chinese food staple. 

Spicy bean paste, other usual brand I use would be Lee Kum Kee

Optional to add these 2 korean sauce if u happen to have on hand, otherwise good to just use the la dou ban jiang ( spicy bean paste)

Try to retain the toufu shape so you get the real dish mapo toufu...

Ingredients at a glance

1 box of Toufu ( Semi firm) or Chinese firm toufu - cubed it

Minced pork 200g

Spring onion ( chopped)

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp minced ginger

some fish sauce optional

Oil for cooking

Sauce

3 tbsp of spicy bean sauce (dou banjiang)

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp oyster sauce

*1-2 tbsp gochujang sauce

1 tbsp samjang sauce

Slury

50 ml of water

1 tbsp of corn starch to 2 tbsp water

Method

1. Heat up wok, dry fry the minced pork till water evaporates, push aside.

2. Add in 2 tbsp of oil, the minced garlic and ginger, fry till fragrant.

3. Mix the pork into the garlic, ginger and fry till slightly brown. Add a squirt of fish sauce (optional)

4. Add in the combined sauce except the slury.

5. Give the meat sauce a good stir and test taste. Add in cubed toufu ( push gently with spatula do not break the toufu)

6. Add in the slury and once bubble, turn down fire to thicken the sauce.

7.Just before done, put in squirt of sesame oil or if u have chilli oil also can.

It enhances the shine in the dish. Throw in chopped spring onion.

*If adding prawns, fry along side minced pork and if using mixed frozen veggies, add in before slury to cook it well.

(Added fibre and protein)

Enjoy and Hope buddy ST will attempt this super simple dish and top it on hot fluffy rice...

Above is Brendy's version...added her photo here to beautify this blog 😄😄

Serving comfort food in a retro dish which he used when young.