Mapo Tofu - how should it taste?

For the partakers of Sichuan cuisine out there - how should Mapo Tofu taste?

I've seen many mention it here (and some of you are making it at home) so when I noticed it on a menu earlier this week I tried it and did . not . like . it . at . all. I found it unpleasantly salty, bitter and vinegary (without any depth of flavor to balance). The menu had two hot peppers next to it, but it didn't seem hot to me. I actually found myself adding hot mustard to a few bites to add some flavor (I actually _do_ usually like hot and vinegary dishes). The only thing I liked was the silky tofu.

I'm wondering if I got a bad version, or if I just don't like it?

- zorkmead

The recipe I've been using for years has a little bitterness from dobanjiang (chili bean paste), but the other flavors are garlic, black bean, chili (not that spicy IMHO), some form of onion (leeks in my version), and Sichuan peppercorns, which may be providing the sourness and/or bitter flavor too.

But bitter and sour should not be dominant.

There are so many bad versions of this dish out there, it wouldn't surprise me if you ended up with one. The odds favor it. Where was it from?

This dish is rich, funky, unctuous, mildly spicy, aromatic and mouth-numbing. Acidic and/or vinegar-y are not typically part of the equation. As Joel posted, there is a mild citrus note in the Szechuan peppercorns -- especially if they're fresh -- but that's more aroma than flavor. Main flavors are the aforementioned peppercorns, salty funk from the fermented broad bean paste, meatiness from broth (and meat) and alliums. It really is a harmonious delight.

=R=

Yes it should be. I go over to Sze Chuan in West Allis where they do it justice. RS, you make it often, can you give out your best recipe? I don't get to Sze Chuan often enough. Thank you.

Puckjam wrote:Yes it should be. I go over to Sze Chuan in West Allis where they do it justice. RS, you make it often, can you give out your best recipe? I don't get to Sze Chuan often enough. Thank you.

I use the recipe from the first edition of Fuchsia Dunlop's Land Of Plenty (I think that's the book). I'll check asap and post the ingredients here. This version calls for leeks but subsequent updates, call for scallions, which are cheaper and more accessible.

=R=

I also use her recipe, but I can't get at it because my cookbooks are behind plastic as we do some refinishing of wood floors.

She calls for chili bean paste which we had a discussion about several years ago. I use: https://www.amazon.com/Pixian-Sichuan-X ... 170&sr=8-7
but many people use and it is easier to get locally: https://www.amazon.com/SXET-Sichuan-Pix ... hdGY&psc=1

Also, I think this is a pretty good rendition of her recipe: https://food52.com/recipes/28917-fuschs ... ma-po-tofu

Here's the one I use. You can get pixian doubanjiang at Richwell Market on Dempster.

MaPo Tofu: Made, Dunlop Land of Plenty
1. Pock-Marked Mother Chen’s Bean Curd
2. Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking
3.
Serves 3 as a main course with one vegetable dish and rice, 4 with three other dishes
4. Ingredients
5.

6. 1 block bean curd (about 1 pound)
7. 4 baby leeks or 2 leeks
8. 1/2 cup peanut oil
9. 6 ounces ground beef
10. 2 1/2 tablespoons Sichuanese chili bean paste
11. 1 tablespoon fermented black beans
12. 2 teaspoons ground Sichuanese chiles (only for chile fiends)
13. 1 cup everyday stock or chicken stock
14. 1 teaspoon white sugar
15. 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
16. Salt to taste
17. 4 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 6 tablespoon cold water
18. 1/2 teaspoon ground roasted Sichuan pepper
19.

20. Instructions
21.

22. Cut the bean curd into 1-inch cubes and leave to steep in very hot or gently simmering water that you have lightly salted. Slice the leeks at a steep angle into thin “horse ear” slices 1 ½ inches long.
23.

24. Season the wok, then add the peanut oil and heat over high flame until smoking. Add the minced beef and stir-fry until it is crispy and a little brown, but not yet dry.
25.

26. Turn the heat down to medium, add the chili bean paste and stir-fry for about 30 seconds, until the oil is a rich red color. Add the fermented black beans and ground chiles and stir-fry for another 20-30 seconds until they are both fragrant and the chiles have added their color to the oil.
27.

28. Pour in the stock, stir well, and add the drained bean curd. Mix it in gently by pushing the back of your ladle or wok scoop gently from the edges to the center of the work – do not stir or the bean curd may break up. Season with the sugar, a couple of teaspoons of soy sauce, and salt to taste. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until the bean curd has absorbed the flavors of the sauce.
29.

30. Add the leeks or scallions and gently stir in. When they are just cooked, add the cornstarch mixture in two or three stages, mixing well, until the sauce has thickened enough to cling glossily to the meat and bean curd. Don’t add more than you need. Finally, pour everything into a deep bowl, scatter with the ground Sichuan pepper, and serve.
31.

32. 2001 Fuchsia Dunlop

Thanks for weighing in everyone and for typing out the recipe.

I will definitely give the dish another try when I get the chance - I might even attempt it at home if I get around to buying the chili bean paste and fermented black beans. I for sure want to try it with the ground pork next time (the version I had was vegetarian).

FWIW - I was at a restaurant in Naperville:
Mapo Restaurant
1563 Naperville Wheaton Rd
Naperville, IL 60563
https://mapo-restaurant.res-menu.com/

I don't want anyone to think all the food was terrible - I've only been there twice, but I have no complaints about the other things I've tasted which include the Stir Fried String Beans (would order if I was in the mood), the Crispy Honey Sesame Chicken (good, but not my thing) and Cumin Lamb (I would order this).

- zorkmead

I really don't know where to recommend for getting a consistently solid version these days. The places I used to reliably count on have morphed or disappeared. As such, making the Fuchsia Dunlop version might be a good idea. What I love about making it is that once I prep everything, I leave it all on the board and I can almost smell the finished dish, just from the ingredients being readied and sitting in proximity to each other.

Here is the recipe as I have cooked it many times (annotated in red where I have come to feel it was worth doing so):

recipe wrote:1 pound firm tofu cut into cubes (I use soft or silken)
peanut oil
6 ounces ground pork (leaner is better, beef or bison okay, too)
2 garlic cloves minced (more!)
2 leeks thinly sliced, sans green bits – or scallions, entire, separated
2.5 tablespoons chili bean paste (~45g)
1 tablespoon fermented black beans
2 teaspoons Szechuan whole peppers, pounded into coarse powder or ground into finer powder
1 cup chicken stock
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 teaspoons light soy sauce (I rarely use this, as the dish is plenty salty without it)
1 tablespoon corn starch dissolved in some water
1 scallion diced (for garnish)
salt to taste

Soak the cubes of tofu in some salted hot water. (optional)

Pour the oil into a deep skillet or wok over high heat.
Stir fry the pork.
Turn the heat down a bit and throw in the garlic and leeks.
When it starts to smell delicious, add in the chili bean paste, black beans, and Sichuan pepper. Stir the mixture and let the flavors meld.
Pour in the stock.

Drain the tofu and dump that in ... but don't stir! You'll break up the beautiful cubes. Use the back of your ladle to move the pieces around gently.

Add the sugar, soy sauce, and salt (if needed). Let the mixture simmer some more (~5 mins).

Now put in the cornstarch mixture, but bit by bit. You may not need all of it. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of your ladle.

Serve while it’s still hot, fresh off the burners, with some white rice, garnished with scallions and a bit more Szechuan pepper powder...if you dare.

Later editions omitted the leeks in favor of scallions but I rarely go that route. In fact, I generally use the occasion of finding nice/inexpensive leeks as a reason to make the dish.

=R=