Upgrade: Mapo Doufu (麻婆豆腐)

I first made mapo doufu seven years ago, the first of my many adaptations from Peimei's Chinese Cook Book. Although I love the dish, Ariel did not, and stopped making it for years. Recently, I've reexamined the recipe and come to the conclusion that it needed an upgrade. My new version offers plenty of savory sauce, a well-balanced spice level, and delicious silken tofu, while not being overly oily. I'm pleased to say this one won her over. It helped to leave the mouth-numbing Sichuan pepper on the side and allow individuals to sprinkle it on their own portions. I enjoy it, but not everyone is a fan!

The tofu is the centerpiece of the dish. Peimei recommended deep frying the tofu before adding to the sauce. Not only do I find this completely unnecessary, I think it's wrong. No mapo doufu I've ever had involves that. In my old version, I stir fried it, but I don't do that now. The tofu can remain soft and simply warm up in the sauce. Since I'm not frying it, a firm tofu is also not needed. Instead, I recommend soft silken tofu. It will break up a bit, but that's fine. Silken tofu usually comes in a carton instead of a plastic tub and can typically be found at Asian markets.

Another major change here was increasing the amount of sauce. I like lots of sauce to serve over rice. To balance the spice level, I mix the Sichuan-style hot bean paste (doubanjiang) with Koon Chun bean sauce. This is not traditional, but keeps it balanced. If you like it spicier, feel free to shift the balance towards more doubanjiang. I used the chunky version of the Koon Chun sauce, rather than the ground one. The final major upgrade is the stock. I used my homemade pork stock, made by simmering two pork shoulder blades with ginger and scallion for a few hours. The stock is unsalted; using a salted stock could result in the sauce getting too salty.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. ground pork
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 scallions
• 2 tsp. hot bean paste (doubanjiang)
• 1 1/2 tsp. fermented bean paste (Koon Chun bean sauce)
• 2 Tbs. light soy sauce
• 1 Tbs. Shaoxing wine
• 2 tsp. corn starch
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted Chinese pork stock
• 24 oz. (2 cartons) soft silken tofu
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• Sichuan pepper powder to taste
• Vegetable oil

Instructions

The dish comes together quickly, so prepare all ingredients first. Peel and mince garlic. Separate scallions into green and white parts. Thinly slice on a bias. Combine soy sauce, wine, and corn starch in a bowl. Carefully remove tofu from packaging and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

Preheat wok over high heat. Add some vegetable oil and stir fry the pork until browned. Add the white parts of the scallions, garlic, and both bean pastes. Add oil if needed. Continue stir frying a few more minutes.

Stir the sauce mixture to integrate the corn starch and add to the pan. Add the stock. Reduce over high heat until slightly thickened. Reduce heat to medium. Add the tofu and sesame oil. Carefully stir together and cook until tofu is heated through. Tofu will break up naturally, but try to preserve some cubes. Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with the green parts of the scallions. Serve with rice and Sichuan pepper to sprinkle on top.