The easiest delicious Szechuan Chinese dish
Are you looking for an authentic Szechuan dish which is authentic, full of flavor and easiest to make? This crowd-pleasing dish is so simple that even a novice cook can pull it off nicely. This dish is called MaPo Tofu. It is a dish of braised tofu with ground meat in a slightly spicy chili sauce. There are only 3 main ingredients; tofu, ground meat and chili bean sauce, and is ready in 15 minutes. Perfect one-pot meal for a dinner gathering with friends. I can’t wait to share it with you! But first the name…
History of MaPo Tofu
Ma means pockmarks, Po means old woman. According to www.chinatravelpage.com, this modest MaPo Tofu was first served 180 years ago in Chengdu, China by a grandma who was known to the neighbors by the pockmarks on her face.
Versatile MaPo Tofu
You can serve MaPo Tofu vegetarian-style by leaving out the meat. This is traditionally cooked with ground pork. The mildly spicy tofu and meat in the rich chili bean sauce is best served over cooked rice, or lapped up with chunks of plain steamed Chinese buns. The soft tofu texture offers a nice balance to the assertive ground meat. The chili bean sauce permeates every morsel in the dish, and blends the plant tofu and the meat beautifully. A perfect example of the sum greater than the simple parts.
My preference is the slightly firmer type of Tofu. I simply like the appearance and mouthfeel of pieces of Tofu for this particular dish, versus the silken Tofu which tends to break into finer pieces. It is a personal choice.
Leftover is Best
Serve in a deep dish because you want to save all the sauce for the following day, and the next day. I would pack it for lunch the next day with a cup of rice. The flavor even deepens as leftovers. Very eco-friendly, no food waste.
Nutritious MaPo Tofu
MaPo Tofu packs 42 grams of high-quality complete protein, which meets over 70% of daily value of protein for most people. Lucky for you, both the tofu made from soy beans, and the ground pork are sources of complete protein as compared to incomplete protein from typical plant foods. According to the Pork Checkoff www.pork.org, pork is an excellent source of essential vitamins including thiamin, selenium, protein, niacin, vitamin B6, and phosphorus for healthy metabolism. MaPo Tofu is a low-carbohydrate entree with zero added sugar. It has only 12 grams of carbohydrates per one cup serving, but an excellent source of bone-supporting calcium and energy-promoting iron, according to www.myfitnesspal.com.
When served over brown rice you also have the whole grain benefits of fiber and extra vitamin Bs.
Ingredients
Servings: 4
8 oz ground pork
1 package of Tofu (1 lb 8 oz)
1.5 tbsp Chili Bean Sauce
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 tsp soy sauce
2 slices ginger, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp scallion diced for garnish, about 1/6 of a stalk
Instructions
Follow the photos left to right, top to bottom, .
- Heat oil over medium heat skillet or wok. Add the ginger and garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add ground pork. Break up into small pieces with the spatula. Turn over after 2 minutes. Stir-fry for another 2 minutes.
- Add the chili bean sauce. Mix and stir-fry for 3 minutes.
- Add the tofu. Break up into 1-2 inch chunks with the spatula. Stir-fry for 3 minutes.
- Add the soy sauce. Stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Serve and garnish with scallion.
Make it Your Own MaPo Tofu
This dish is easily adapted to your taste and preferences. As I said, you can leave out the meat and you have a vegetarian dish. Add more chili bean sauce if you like it to be spicier. I have never tried it with ground beef. I heard the orginal recipe 180 years ago was made with ground beef. How would you change it up to make it your own MaPo Tofu? Drop me a note below and let me know!
