Chinese recipe

Mapo tofu

Name: Mapo tofu
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 3
Cuisine: Chinese cuisine
Ingredients: 400 g soft tofu, cut into 2 cm cubes; 120 g ground pork; 30 g doubanjiang; 10 g fermented black beans, roughly chopped; 15 g garlic, finely chopped; 10 g fresh ginger, finely chopped; 3 g Sichuan peppercorns, ground; 25 ml neutral cooking oil; 250 ml unsalted chicken or vegetable stock; 15 ml light soy sauce; 15 ml Shaoxing wine; 3 g granulated sugar; 8 g plus 20 ml water cornstarch slurry; 30 g scallions, thinly sliced

Tender tofu and pork are folded through a fragrant, chile-red Sichuan sauce.

Sichuan, China

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 35 min
Servings: 3

Mapo tofu with intact tofu cubes, minced pork, red chile sauce, and scallions in a shallow bowl — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by SichuanfoodloverSource page · Original file · CC BY-SA 4.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

400 g
soft tofu, cut into 2 cm cubes
120 g
ground pork
30 g
doubanjiang
10 g
fermented black beans, roughly chopped
15 g
garlic, finely chopped
10 g
fresh ginger, finely chopped
3 g
Sichuan peppercorns, ground
25 ml
neutral cooking oil
250 ml
unsalted chicken or vegetable stock
15 ml
light soy sauce
15 ml
Shaoxing wine
3 g
granulated sugar
8 g plus 20 ml water
cornstarch slurry
30 g
scallions, thinly sliced

Method

01
Soak the tofu in 70°C lightly salted water for 5 minutes, then drain gently. Stir the cornstarch with 20 ml water.
02
Heat a wok over medium-high heat. Add the oil and pork; stir-fry for 3 minutes until browned and the centre reaches 71°C. Add garlic and ginger for 30 seconds.
03
Reduce the heat to medium. Stir in doubanjiang, black beans, and half of the ground peppercorns for 45 seconds, until the oil turns red.
04
Pour in the stock, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and sugar. Slide in the tofu and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, shaking the wok instead of stirring.
05
Stir the slurry once, add half, and simmer for 30 seconds. Add enough of the rest for a sauce that clings to the tofu without becoming stiff.
06
Turn off the heat. Fold in the remaining pepper and scallions, rest for 1 minute, and serve with rice.

Practical notes

Tips

Use soft tofu but handle it with a wok spatula so the cubes remain distinct.
Taste the sauce after the stock goes in; doubanjiang varies widely in saltiness.

Common mistakes

Boiling hard can break the tofu and split the sauce; keep the simmer gentle.
Adding all of the slurry at once can make a gluey sauce.

Substitutions

Replace pork with finely chopped shiitake mushrooms for a vegetarian version, using vegetable stock.
Use firm tofu if soft tofu is unavailable, adding 1 minute to the simmer.

Storage

Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently with a splash of stock; do not freeze the tofu.

Cultural context

The name refers to a pockmarked woman said to have sold this chile-and-bean tofu in Chengdu; modern versions balance heat, aroma, and numbing pepper.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.