Vegan mapo tofu
Local name : 麻婆豆腐
Silken tofu in a fiery red sauce of doubanjiang, fermented black beans and tingling Sichuan pepper, with mushrooms in place of meat.
Photo : Sichuanfoodlover · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 35 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
Method
- Toast the Sichuan peppercorns in a dry pan for 2 minutes until fragrant, then crush them in a mortar.
- Gently lower the tofu cubes into a pan of simmering salted water for 2 minutes, then drain. This firms them up.
- Heat the oil in a wok and fry the chopped mushrooms over high heat for 5 minutes until browned and dry.
- Lower the heat, add the doubanjiang, black beans, chilli flakes, garlic and ginger. Fry for 1 minute until the oil turns red.
- Pour in the stock, soy sauce and sugar. Bring to a simmer, slide in the tofu and cook for 5 minutes, nudging it with the back of a spoon rather than stirring.
- Add the cornflour mixture and let it thicken for 1 minute. Scatter over the ground Sichuan pepper and spring onions, and serve over white rice.
“Ma” is the numbing tingle of Sichuan pepper and “la” the burn of chilli, and the dish needs both. Adjust the pepper to your own tolerance.
