Ma Po Tofu Recipes

Steps:

• Heat a wok over medium-high heat and toast the Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Remove from heat and transfer the peppercorns to a bowl to cool. Coarsely grind the peppercorns in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle and set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together the chicken broth, hot bean paste, cornstarch, hot sesame oil, soy sauce and sugar; set aside.
• Heat the wok over medium-high heat. Add the canola oil, garlic, ginger and fermented black beans and cook until fragrant, stirring often, about 10 seconds. Add the ground pork and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up the meat with a wooden spatula or spoon, until it is browned, 3 to 5 minutes. (Lower the heat to medium if the garlic starts to burn.) Add the reserved ground peppercorns, the tofu and the soy sauce mixture. Cook, stirring once to combine, until the sauce is reduced, thickened and glossy, about 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and garnish with the scallions. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Steps:

• Get all the ingredients ready before you start cooking and set them out in bowls. Drain the tofu and cut it into 1.5cm cubes. Put it in a bowl and cover with very hot water. Leave this while you get on with everything else.
• Heat a wok and pour in the groundnut oil. Get this really hot and fry the pork until it's crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon but leave the oil behind.
• Add the bean paste and cook, stirring for a few mins until fragrant, then add the black beans, ginger and garlic. Cook, stirring, for a min or so, then add the stock and let it bubble away.
• Stir the cornflour and water into the mixture in the wok, drain the tofu and stir it into the sauce. Tip in the spring onions and the mince.
• Add the chilli oil, if using, and sprinkle over the Sichuan peppercorns. The sauce shouldn't need seasoning with salt, as many of the ingredients are salty already. Serve with boiled white rice.

Steps:

• In a wok, heat vegetable oil on medium high heat for 2 minutes. Have all your ingredients ready next to your cooking area as you will need them close at hand as cooking progresses.
• Add garlic and ginger to the wok and stir-fry for about 1 minute, be careful not to burn the garlic.
• Add the ground pork to the wok and break up into large chunks. Let the pork sear and gently combine the garlic and ginger as you continue to break up the meat, abour 3-4 minutes. If desired, you may season the pork at this stage with salt and black pepper, but this is not necessary.
• For the sauce, combine the sugar, cooking wine, rice wine, sesame oil, soy sauce and chili paste. Add the sauce mixture to the wok. Gently combine and bring the wok to a simmer.
• Add green onions, tofu and 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Gently fold ingredients together, be careful not to break up the tofu (you want it to retain their cubed-shape).
• Cover wok with a lid and lower heat to low and braise pork and tofu for 10 minutes.
• Remove lid and raise heat to medium. Stir cornstarch into remaining 1/2 cup of chicken stock to make a slurry. Add the slurry to the wok and gently stir to thicken sauce, about 2 minutes. Remove the ginger now, if desired.
• Serve over white rice and enjoy!

Steps:

• Prepare the tofu: Cut the tofu into 3/4-inch cubes and put into a bowl. Bring a kettle of water to a rolling boil. Turn off the heat and when the boiling subsides, pour hot water over the tofu to cover. Set aside for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large (14-inch) wok or (12-inch) skillet over medium heat, toast the peppercorns for 2 to 3 minutes, until super fragrant and slightly darkened. (A wisp of smoke is normal.) Let cool briefly, then pound with a mortar and pestle, or pulse in a spice grinder.
• Set a strainer over a measuring cup, then add the tofu to drain; reserve 1 1/2 cups of the soaking water, discarding the rest. Set the tofu and reserved soaking water near the stove with the peppercorns and other prepped ingredients for swift cooking.
• Reheat the wok or skillet over high. When hot - you can flick water in and it should sizzle and evaporate within seconds - swirl in the oil to evenly coat, then add the meat. Stir and mash into cooked and crumbly pieces, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add 2 1/2 tablespoons doubanjiang, the douchi (if using), ginger and red-pepper flakes (if using). Cook about 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly, until things are vivid reddish brown. Add the soy sauce and sugar, stir to combine, then add the tofu. Gently stir or shake the pan to combine the ingredients without breaking up the tofu much.
• Add the reserved 1 1/2 cups soaking water, bring to a vigorous simmer, and cook for about 3 minutes, agitating the pan occasionally, to let the tofu absorb the flavors of the sauce.
• Slightly lower the heat and taste the sauce. If needed, add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of doubanjiang for heat, a pinch of salt for savoriness, or a sprinkle of sugar to tame heat.
• Add the scallions and stir to combine. Stir in the cornstarch slurry, then stir in enough to the mapo tofu to thicken to a soupy rather than a gravy-like finish. Sprinkle in the ground peppercorns, give the mixture one last stir to incorporate, then transfer to a shallow bowl. Serve immediately with lots of hot rice.

Steps:

• Place 1 tablespoon of the chopped ginger into a large zip-lock bag, and reserve the remainder.
• Add the remaining marinade ingredients to the bowl (1 sliced green onion, 1 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoons sesame oil, 2 tablespoons dry sherry, 2 teaspoons cornstarch), and mix well.
• Add the ground pork, mix marinade and ground pork together, and put in refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
• Remove hard stems from Shiitake mushrooms and slice finely.
• Blanch the tofu in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then drain.
• Combine the garlic with the reserved ginger, and process together with a stick blender or spice grinder until they form a thick paste.
• Heat large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add the Sesame and Olive Oil (2 tbsp sesame, 1 tbsp olive) and just as it is starting to smoke, add the garlic/ginger pasted and stir-fry, stirring continuously for approximately 30 seconds (take care not to burn the mixture).
• Next add the Black Bean Hot Sauce, Szechwan Stir Fry Sauce, Chili Oil, Shiitake mushrooms, and stir-fry for approximately 60 seconds.
• Stir meat mixture, add it to the skillet, and continue to stir-fry over high heat for two to three minutes, until it looses its pinkish color.
• Toss in the tofu and the sliced green onions and continue to fry for about 45 seconds.
• Pour in the soy sauce and water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to moderate and cook for a couple of minutes.
• If there appears to be too much liquid in the pan contents, thicken with a little cornstarch and water.
• Serve with steamed rice.

Steps:

• Put oil in a deep 10-inch skillet or wok, preferably nonstick, and turn heat to medium-high. A minute later, add garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes, and cook just until they begin to sizzle, less than a minute. Add pork, and stir to break it up; cook, stirring occasionally, until it loses most of its pink color.
• Add scallions and stir; add stock. Cook for a minute or so, scraping bottom of pan with a wooden spoon if necessary to loosen any stuck bits of meat, then add tofu. Cook, stirring once or twice, until tofu is heated through, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in the soy sauce; taste, and add salt and red pepper flakes as necessary. Garnish with cilantro if you like, and serve.

Steps:

• Place tofu slices on several layers of paper towels, cover with additional paper towels. Place a dinner plate on top of covered tofu; let stand 30 minutes. Remove plate, discard paper towels. Cut tofu slices into 1/2-inch cubes.
• Combine broth, cornstarch, soy sauce, oyster sauce and chili garlic sauce, stirring with a whisk.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; cook 4 minutes or until done, stirring to crumble. Add ginger and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add tofu; cook 4 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently. Add broth mixture to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until mixture thickens. Remove from heat.
• Serve tofu mixture over rice. Sprinkle with onions.