Tofu sadly has the reputation of being bland, but one bite of this blazing hot stir-fry and you’ll thank your lucky stars for the rich, creamy cubes of tender tofu that soothe your scorched tongue. But Mapo Tofu isn’t just about causing an oral 5-alarm fire; it features a broad palette of flavorful aromatics like scallions, ginger, and garlic, as well as a wallop of earthy umami thanks to the pork, doubanjiang (broad-bean chili paste) and douchi (豆豉 – fermented black beans).
Like many Chinese dishes, Mapo Tofu has migrated across the world, adapting to local taste buds along the way. I’ve written about my milder Japanese-style Mapo Tofu before, but for this version, I wanted to stay true to the original Sichuan preparation, while adapting the cooking techniques to work in a western kitchen (i.e., a kitchen without a high BTU wok burner).
It’s not hard to make and comes together in minutes, but there are a few key points to make the best Mapo Tofu. The first is that because this dish (like all stir-fries) comes together so quickly once you start cooking, it’s imperative that you measure out and prep everything in advance, so you can toss in one ingredient after the other. Doing this over low heat so you can prep while you cook is a sure way to mess this up.
The second key point is to parboil the tofu in salt water before adding it to the stir-fry. It may seem like an extra hassle, but this step draws out excess liquid from the tofu, ensuring your Mapo Tofu doesn’t end up watery when you serve it. It also has the added benefit of firming up the tofu a bit, so it doesn’t fall apart as you toss it with the sauce.
Finally, I like to be able to eat my Mapo Tofu with rice and chopsticks, so I make the sauce a little on the thick side. This gives the Mapo Tofu a beautiful glossy sheen and allows for the sauce to cling to each cube of tofu, ensuring you get an even mix of both with each bite. If you like your Mapo Tofu a bit saucier, you can halve the amount of potato starch.
Other Spicy Sichuan Recipes
Units
Ingredients
- 400 grams soft tofu (drained and cut into 3/4” cubes)
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons potato starch
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 9 grams douchi (~1 tablespoon fermented black beans, roughly chopped)
- 2 gram Sichuan pepper (~1 teaspoon ground, *see note below)
- 2 tablespoons doubanjiang (to taste)
- 50 grams scallions (white part only minced)
- 24 grams garlic (2 extra large cloves, minced)
- 20 grams ginger (1-inch piece, minced)
- 150 grams ground pork
Instructions
- Bring 2 cups of water along with 1 teaspoon of salt to a boil. Add the tofu and cook for 1 minute. Gently tip the tofu into a colander and drain well.
- Whisk the low-sodium chicken broth, potato starch, and sesame oil together, and set them aside while you prepare all the other ingredients.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan until very hot (but not smoking) and add the Sichuan pepper and douchi and stir-fry for a few seconds until fragrant.
- Add the doubanjiang and stir-fry until the oil turns red (a few seconds)
- Add the white parts of the scallions, garlic, and ginger and stir-fry until the aromatics start to caramelize.
- Add the pork and stir-fry breaking it up into small pieces as you go.
- Stir the sauce mixture and then pour it in. Let this boil until it thickens.
- Add the tofu and toss in the pan to coat evenly with the sauce.
- Serve the Mapo Tofu garnished with the scallion greens and hot rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Eileen says
Do you have any suggestions as to the best brands for the douchi, sichuan peppercorns and doubanjiang chili bean paste?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Eileen, I’m based in Japan, so I’m afraid that wouldn’t be of much help as a lot of the stuff is repackaged and relabeled for the Japanese market. For Sichuan peppercorns I look for ones that have a nice red color (don’t get ones that are brown), and are relatively clean(sometimes they’re covered with dust and have twigs and things mixed in). For Doubanjiang, I like to get one from Pixian in Sichuan. I don’t really have any tips for Douchi, but I have noticed that some brands are much saltier than others, so you may need to make some adjustments on the fly.
Kathy says
This recipe is so delicious! My second time making it. The first time I had to substitute the doubanjiang with gochujang, since I hadn’t even heard of the fermented bean paste. It was delicious enough for me to go and hunt down doubanjiang. It makes a real difference. That fermented bean flavor is amazing! Blanching the tofu was also a revelation.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Kathy, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it! Discovering new ingredients is one of my favorite things about cooking so I’m glad I was able to introduce you to Doubanjiang😃
Andrew says
Just wanted to jump in and let you know that this is one of our FAVORITE recipes – have made it many times over the years and it never disappoints. It was also my first introduction to doubanjiang and douchi, and the first time I used sichuan peppercorns at home.
You may also be interested to know that we typically make it vegetarian by substituting soy crumbles for the pork (or better, impossible ground, if you can get it) and whatever broth you want for the chicken broth – we use Edward and Sons Not Chick’n.
As an early entry for me to Sichuan food, this recipe has had a big influence on my cooking. Thank you for posting it!!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Andrew, it’s great to hear that you’ve enjoyed this so much, thanks for taking the time to let me know! I don’t know if you saw it but I did a plant-based mayo tofu recipe a few months ago https://norecipes.com/vegan-mapo-tofu/
Nusaybah Chowdhury says
Is there anything else I can add to substitute the pork?
Marc Matsumoto says
Yes, you can use ground chicken or ground beef.