Mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐) is an extremely popular dish that comes from the Sichuan province of China. The silky tofu is cooked with pork in a delicious chili and black bean sauce. It's spicy and absolutely wonderful to enjoy with a bowl of rice. And it comes with the tongue tingling sensation that is a signature of Sichuan cuisine.
For another amazing Sichuan dish, poached beef in spicy sauce is so tender with the same famous Sichuan flavours.
The origin of the name 'mapo tofu' is actually pretty hilarious. The Chinese characters translate to 'pockmarked grandmother's beancurd,' and was aptly named so after a lady with an unfortunate skin blemish and her fantastic tofu dish. Whoever this lovely lady was, so many people have her to thank for her cooking. Now, hers was said to make you break a sweat. I made my version a bit milder, but feel free to make adjustments to heat it more to your preference.
Ingredients
- Lean ground pork
- Silken tofu
- Sesame oil
- Sichuan peppercorn powder
- Doubanjiang
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Chicken broth
- Soy sauce
- Cornstarch
- Chili oil
- Sugar
- Scallions
See the recipe card below for quantities.
Sichuan Peppercorn Powder (花椒粉)
The Sichuan pepper is commonly used in the cuisine of China's Sichuan province. Despite the misleading name, it is not actually a pepper plant. In fact, the peppercorns are actually the dried berries from a Chinese prickly ash tree. It is unique in that it has a tingly, numbing effect on your tongue. They taste slightly bitter and of woodsy pine and lemony citrus. Sichuan peppercorns are not spicy themselves, but the tingling acts as a flavour enhancer. And so, it is used in combination with chili in Sichuan cuisine to create a 'numb-heat' sensation.
In this mapo tofu recipe I use a teaspoon of the peppercorn powder. This amount gives a pleasant, light tingle effect. If you would like to amp that up, you can try adding a bit more. Just be mindful that if adding more you are introducing more bitterness to the dish. If you can't find the powdered version, you could buy whole Sichuan peppercorns and grind them finely yourself. You could also completely omit them from this dish and it will be different but still very tasty.
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Doubanjiang (豆瓣醬)
Doubanjiang is another famous ingredient of the Sichuan cuisine. It is a fermented chili and bean paste that adds wonderful savoury and spicy flavours to a dish. Doubanjiang is considered a staple ingredient in traditional mapo tofu. If you simply can't get it, you could substitute doubanjiang with sambal oelek chili paste in this recipe (usually much easier to find) - but you will be missing out on a special flavour element.
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Instructions
Have all of your ingredients prepped and ready before you start cooking. This dish comes together quite quickly and this will make it a lot easier.
Add 2 teaspoons of sesame oil to a wok or a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add in the Sichuan peppercorn powder and stir fry it for 30 seconds.
Next add in the minced garlic, grated ginger, and doubanjiang. Stir fry for 1 minute.
Then add in the ground pork. Break it apart and brown until it is cooked through. While the pork is cooking, mix the cornstarch in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons of cold water to make a slurry.
Once the pork is cooked through, stir in the chicken broth, soy sauce, and slurry. Cook for about 1 minute, until the just thickens a little.
Mix the chili oil into the sauce, then gently fold in the cubes of tofu. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally while being careful not to mash the tofu pieces.
Stir in the sugar, scallions, and a teaspoon of sesame oil. Cook for 1 minute.
Mapo tofu is best enjoyed with a bowl of fluffy rice to soak up all of that amazing sauce.
Variations
No pork: You can substitute the pork in this recipe with lean ground beef.
Make it spicy!: I made this version of mapo tofu to be a bit milder than the seriously tongue-numbing, 'break a sweat' versions that are out there. This one is more of a mild-medium spicy (depending on your tolerance) with a pleasant, light tongue tingle. But feel free to make adjustments to heat it more to your preference. Add more doubanjiang and chili oil for an extra kick.
Equipment
You will need a wok or a large saucepan to cook this recipe.
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Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
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Print📖 Recipe
Sichuan Mapo Tofu
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: Chinese
Description
Mapo tofu is cooked with pork in a delicious chili and black bean sauce. This silken tofu dish is spicy and absolutely wonderful to enjoy with a bowl of rice. And it comes with the tongue tingling sensation that is a signature of Sichuan cuisine.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon sesame oil, divided
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn powder *
1 ½ tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoon doubanjiang **
200 g lean ground pork
1 cup (237 ml) chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon chili oil
450 g silken tofu, cut into 1" cubes
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced
Instructions
Have all of your ingredients prepped and ready before you start cooking. This dish comes together quite quickly and this will make it a lot easier.
Add 2 teaspoons of sesame oil to a wok or a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add in the Sichuan peppercorn powder and stir fry it for 30 seconds.
Next add in the minced garlic, grated ginger, and doubanjiang. Stir fry for 1 minute.
Then add in the ground pork. Break it apart and brown until it is cooked through.
While the pork is cooking, mix the cornstarch in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons of cold water to make a slurry.
Once the pork is cooked through, stir in the chicken broth, soy sauce, and slurry. Cook for about 1 minute, until the just thickens a little.
Mix the chili oil into the sauce, then gently fold in the cubes of tofu. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally while being careful not to mash the tofu pieces.
Stir in the sugar, scallions, and a teaspoon of sesame oil. Cook for 1 minute.
Mapo tofu is best enjoyed with a bowl of fluffy rice to soak up all of that amazing sauce.
Notes
I made this version of mapo tofu to be a bit milder than the seriously tongue-numbing, 'break a sweat' versions that are out there. This one is more of a mild-medium spicy (depending on your tolerance) with a pleasant, light tongue tingle. But feel free to make adjustments to heat it more to your preference. Add more doubanjiang and chili oil for an extra kick.
* Sichuan peppercorn powder adds a tingly, numbing sensation that enhances flavours. If you can't find the powdered version, you could grind whole Sichuan peppercorns yourself, but make sure that it is ground very finely. You could also completely omit them from the recipe if you can't get them. The dish would taste a bit different and wouldn't have the tingle, but would still be very tasty.
** Doubanjiang is a fermented chili and black bean paste that adds savoury and spicy flavours to the dish. If you can't get it, you could substitute with the easier to find sambal oelek chili sauce. You would just be missing the savoury bean flavour that is signature of this dish.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 253
- Sugar: 2.1 g
- Sodium: 657.1 mg
- Fat: 18.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 8.1 g
- Protein: 16.1 g
- Cholesterol: 34 mg
Keywords: mapo tofu, Sichuan mapo tofu, Chinese mapo tofu
Tina Yee says
This is a very good recipe. Growing up in China my grandmother would make this dish on weekends.
Asha says
Thanks so much Tina! 🙂 It is such a great dish.