Comments on: Mapo Tofu (Mabo Doufu)

By: Ebi Chili Recipe

Ebi Chili Recipe — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 07:00:39 +0000

[...] widely regarded as the father of Japanese style Sichuan cuisine, popularizing such favorites as Mapo Tofu and Ebi Chili. While Ebi Chili is usually made using doubanjiang (tobanjan), I prefer using a [...]

By: suki

suki — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:41:00 +0000

OH good, a non-MSG version!

By: Wok with Ray

Wok with Ray — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:00:00 +0000

I love Mapo Tofu and I’d like mine very spicy. Thank you for sharing this beautiful and delicious dish. This is my first time visiting your site and I like it.

~ ray ~

By: jennifer laceda

jennifer laceda — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:03:00 +0000

Oh, cool! Thanks! I like spicy!!!

By: Marc Matsumoto

Marc Matsumoto — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:58:00 +0000

It’s the Japanese transliteration for Doubanjiang (辣豆瓣酱). It’s a spicy bean paste from Sichuan Province.

By: jennifer laceda

jennifer laceda — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:37:00 +0000

Quick question: what’s tobanjan? I’m Asian (Chinese)…shame on me for not knowing

By: jane ng

jane ng — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:33:00 +0000

The best part is, then I can tone down the spiciness but still enjoy the dish

By: easy recipes teacher

easy recipes teacher — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:01:00 +0000

I wonder if using ground beef is common as well. It is more expensive, but the taste may be richer than pork.

By: Genie

Genie — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:25:00 +0000

This is one of my favourite Chinese comfort meals. I think my parents must have made this extra mild for us when we were kids. I enjoy a the kick nowdays though. It’s a nice contrast between silky tofu and fiery pork.

I prefer homemade Mapo Tofu because I find that many places make this with too much oil. My mother told me that this is named after “Grandma Tofu” because it is so soft that even those without teeth can eat it. I guess it’s just as far fetched as the pock-faced version?

By: Marc Matsumoto

Marc Matsumoto — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:52:00 +0000

Yep, then it would become Mabo Nasu (eggplant). Because the sauce is pretty thick deep frying the eggplant first usually works best.

By: Astri

Astri — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:39:00 +0000

Would it be possible to exchange tofu with eggplant? If so, what’s the best way to cook the eggplant? Thanks!

By: Colin Canfield

Colin Canfield — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:13:00 +0000

I tried this recipe tonight, superb! It is much better than the instant box ones….

By: Teena

Teena — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 06:13:00 +0000

Thank you so much for this version of Mapo Tofu! I was making the PBS version and ladling out a portion for my preschooler before adding the spice. He still loves it but this one looks like it has more flavor even w/o the tobanjan. Thanks!

By: Marc Matsumoto

Marc Matsumoto — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:01:00 +0000

I’m with you on stinky tofu, have tried it a few times, but can’t do more than one bite.

Since there isn’t a huge quantity of tobanjan in this version, any hot sauce should work fine.

By: cocopuff1212

cocopuff1212 — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:55:00 +0000

On your blog, each post has an astonishingly beautiful photo at the top that takes my breath away, and I *always* have to take a few seconds and recover from it before I can move onto actually reading!

Thank you for the tip about storing the sauce in a bottle. Didn’t know it could keep that long. Now that I know, I will make my own — I never quite liked the way those store-bought sauces made me eternally thirsty and a bit tired later on.