Mapo Tofu with Sichuan Pepper
Real mapo tofu is about texture and tingle as much as heat. The silken tofu should wobble, the sauce should cling, and the Sichuan peppercorn should leave a cool buzz on the lips. Toast and grind the peppercorns yourself; the pre-ground stuff has usually lost its electricity.
Ingredients
- 600g silken tofu, cut into 2cm cubes
- 200g ground pork
- 2 tablespoons doubanjiang (fermented broad bean chile paste)
- 1 tablespoon fermented black beans, rinsed and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon ground toasted Sichuan peppercorns
- 300ml chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch slurried with 2 tablespoons water
- 3 scallions, sliced
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil
Method
- Slip the tofu cubes into a pot of barely simmering salted water to warm and firm slightly while you build the sauce.
- Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high. Fry the pork until it crisps at the edges and the fat runs clear.
- Lower the heat and add the doubanjiang. Stir until the oil turns deep red, then add the black beans and garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Pour in the stock and bring to a simmer. Drain the tofu and slide it in, nudging rather than stirring so the cubes stay whole.
- Stir in the slurry in two additions until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon.
- Scatter most of the ground Sichuan pepper and the scallions over the top. Finish with the rest of the pepper at the table. Serve with rice.