Sichuan Mapo Tofu

Mapo tofu (mābō dōfu / 麻婆豆腐) is an extremely popular dish that comes from the Sichuan province of China. Silky and tender tofu is braised with ground meat (usually pork or beef), garlic, and ginger in a delicious chili and black bean sauce. It's rich, spicy, savoury, tingly, aromatic, and absolutely wonderful to enjoy with a bowl of steamed rice. This dish is a must-try. Best of all - it's quick and easy to make, ready in less than 30 minutes!

this recipe

You will love this delicious and saucy tofu dish served with simple jasmine rice for an easy weeknight meal. This recipe features an authentic mapo sauce like you will find in restaurants. It's healthy, being low in calories and high in protein. And it's easily customizable so you can adjust the flavour or spice level to your preference.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Instructions
• How to serve it
• Equipment
• Storage
• Tips for Success
• FAQ
• 📖 Recipe

Don't be daunted by the list of ingredients. The Sichuan ingredients needed for this dish are typically pretty easy to get and can be used in other delicious recipes, such as this amazing poached beef in spicy sauce that features the same famous Sichuan flavours.

Ingredients

• Sichuan peppercorn powder - (Huājiāo fěn / 花椒粉) A staple in Sichuan cuisine, the peppercorns are the dried berries of Chinese prickly ash tree. It has a tingly, numbing effect on the tongue. It tastes slightly bitter and of woodsy pine and lemony citrus. While not spicy itself, the tingling acts as a flavour enhancer so it is used in combination with chili to create a numb-heat sensation (màlá / 麻辣). Adjust this ingredient to your preference.
• Doubanjiang - (Dòubàn jiàng / 豆瓣醬) This Sichuan chili bean paste has a strong umami, salty, and spicy flavour. A famous Sichuan ingredient, it is a spicy, fermented broad bean paste that adds a wonderful savoury flavour to a dish. It can greatly vary in salt and spice depending on the producer, so you may need to adjust. If you can, get 'Pixian broad bean paste' (Píxiàn dòubàn / 郫县豆瓣); Pixian is an area of Sichuan province famous for making the best doubanjiang. You may need to roughly chop before cooking.
• Tofu - The kind of tofu used in Sichuan mapo tofu really depends on personal preference. I used silken tofu, which works beautifully in mapo tofu with a melt-in-your-mouth texture - as long as you handle it very carefully so as to not break it down into the sauce. Rigorous stirring can make it fall apart. Soft tofu, sometimes labeled as 'medium-firm' in English, is also a popular choice that is slightly easier to handle. Some prefer to use firm tofu because it is easy to handle and soaks up the sauce. It's really up to you!
• Lean ground pork
• Sesame oil
• Garlic & Ginger - These add fresh, pungent aromas and garlicky flavour to the sauce. Use a microplane zester to grate these finely.
• Low sodium chicken broth
• Soy sauce
• Cornstarch - A cornstarch slurry is used to thicken the sauce.
• Chili oil
• Sugar - This is optional, but can help to balance the saltiness and spiciness of the dish.
• Scallions

See the recipe card below for quantities.

Sichuan Peppercorn Powder

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Doubanjiang

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Substitutions

• Sichuan peppercorn powder - If you can't find the powdered version, you could buy whole Sichuan peppercorns and use a mortar and pestle or spice grinder to freshly grind them.
• Doubanjiang - This is an important ingredient to create umami flavour in your mapo tofu. There is no real substitute. You could try using Korean gochujang, another spicy, bean-based paste; the flavour will be tasty but different.
• Ground pork - Ground beef is a popular substitute. Or, you could use ground chicken or turkey if you prefer.
• Scallions - In Sichuan province, garlic greens (suànmiáo / 蒜苗) are typically used. Either works well in this recipe.

Variations

• Extra spicy - I made this version of Sichuan 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). But you can easily modify it to your preference. Add more doubanjiang and chili oil for an extra kick.
• Less spicy - Use a mild doubanjiang and reduce or omit the chili oil and peppercorns.
• Less or more tingly - I use a teaspoon of Sichuan 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. You may need to balance the extra bitterness with a bit more sugar. Or, reduce it by half for a lighter tingle and less bitter/herbal flavour in the dish.
• Beans - Some versions of this dish include douchi, Chinese fermented black beans (dòuchǐ / 豆豉). They have an earthy, salty flavour and are often used in combination with doubanjiang. You can choose to add this ingredient if you wish; it won't greatly impact the flavour of the dish.
• Gluten-free - Most brands of doubanjiang (an important ingredient in mapo tofu) contain wheat. You will need to ensure you use a gluten-free version of doubanjiang.
• Vegan - Replace the meat with chopped shiitake mushrooms. And substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth or water.

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.

Mapo tofu is best enjoyed with a bowl of fluffy jasmine rice to soak up all of that amazing sauce.

Note: It is popular in Sichuan restaurants to sprinkle the dish with a touch more Sichuan peppercorn powder right before serving. If you love the tingle, give it a try.

How to serve it

Sichuan mapo tofu was designed to be served with simple, steamed, white rice. On its own the flavours are quite strong. Plain rice (usually jasmine rice) is perfect for soaking up the spicy and salty sauce. Alternatively, some people like to enjoy it with noodles. Mapo tofu can be a main dish or a served with an assortment of dishes to make a full meal.

Equipment

• Wok or large, nonstick pan
• Rubber spatula or wooden spoon
• Microplane zester - for finely grating garlic and ginger.

wok

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Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.

Tips for Success

• Tofu - You want to prevent the tofu from breaking apart while cutting and stirring it, especially if using a silken tofu. Use a sharp knife to cut it into squares. Be very gentle using a rounded-edge utensil, such as a spoon or spatula, to stir. Only stir as necessary.
• Salt - Depending on the brand, doubanjiang can vary greatly in the amount of salt it contains. I recommend doing a taste test at the end of cooking before adding any salt because you may not need any.
• Sauce thickness - You can adjust the consistency of the sauce by adding a bit more chicken broth or water to make it thinner, or reducing the chicken broth slightly to thicken it.
• Don't overcook - Be careful to not overcook this dish or the sauce will become lumpy.

FAQ

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