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Mapo tofu with rice
Also known as 麻婆豆腐 · mapo doufu · ma po tofu · mabo tofu
Soft tofu in a red sauce of fermented broad bean paste and Sichuan pepper. Hot in two different ways at once.
Typical serving
520 kcal
usually 410–650 kcal
 Protein | 24 g |
|---|---|
 Carbs | 60 g |
 Fat | 20 g |
Reference figures for a dish as it is commonly cooked — never a measurement of your plate. The range is the honest part: two kitchens make this differently. In the app, a photograph replaces the guess.
Before you start
- doubanjiang — the fermented broad bean paste is the dish
Ingredients
Serves 2 · dimmer marks are storecupboard
- 400gsilken tofu
- 120gbeef mince — or leave it out entirely
- 150gshort-grain rice
- 2 tbspdoubanjiang
- 1 tspSichuan peppercorns
- 1 thumbgarlic and ginger
- 2 tspcornflour
- 2spring onions
Method
6 steps
boil · 15m walk awayRice on. Then tofu cubed and slipped into salted water just off the boil, which firms it enough to survive the sauce.
grill · 4mPeppercorns toasted dry until fragrant, then crushed. This is what makes the numbness — it is not heat, and it has its own name, má.
fry · 8mBeef browned hard, then the doubanjiang cooked in the fat until the oil turns red, with the garlic and ginger.
simmer · 6mWater in, tofu slid in, and moved only by pushing the pan — a spoon breaks it.
fold · 2mCornflour slurry through in stages until the sauce clings rather than pools.
finish · 1mGround peppercorn and spring onion over the top at the very end, never cooked in.
Worth knowing
The tingling is not heat. Sichuan pepper acts directly on the nerve endings in the lip, and the sensation has its own name — má.
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