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Mapo Tofu

This is every chef’s favorite Chinese food. It is spicy, meaty, fragrant, and it warms your soul like nothing else. The only time I actually like eating tofu is when I eat this dish.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
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Ingredients 

  • 400 soft tofu
  • 15 g grated ginger
  • 30 g garlic, minced or pressed, 6 cloves
  • 75 g scallions, light green and white parts only, thinly sliced, reserve greens for garnish
  • 10 g Thai chiles, thinly sliced, or reduce for less heat
  • 2 g Szechuan peppercorns, ground, or sub black pepper
  • 75 g neutral oil, e.g., avocado or peanut
  • 125 g 80/20 ground beef, or pork
  • 40 g toban djan, fermented bean & chili paste
  • 15 g gochugaru chile powder, or sub paprika, added later
  • 30 g Shaoxing wine, or mirin, white wine, or water
  • 300 g chicken stock
  • 10 g soy sauce
  • 3 g salt
  • 5 g sugar
  • 1 g MSG, optional
  • 5 g sesame oil
  • 5 g cornstarch
  • 20 g water
Metric - US Customary

Instructions 

  • Slice tofu into 6 planks, then cube into ¾–1" pieces. Leave cubes undisturbed on the cutting board to prevent breakage.
  • Bring 2–3 quarts water to a boil in a wok or pot. Salt generously. Gently slide tofu into the water using a bench scraper. Simmer 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel–lined plate to dry.
  • Prep the aromatics: grate ginger, press garlic, slice scallions (light parts only), and chiles. Grind Sichuan peppercorns in a mortar and pestle or crush with a pan.
  • Heat dry wok over high heat. Add oil and ground beef. Break up and brown for ~2 minutes.
  • Add toban djan. Stir-fry 30 seconds.
  • Add gochugaru and ground Sichuan peppercorns. Stir-fry 1 minute.
  • Add scallions, chiles, garlic, and ginger. Stir-fry ~90 seconds until softened.
  • Deglaze with Shaoxing wine, scraping up browned bits. Reduce ~30 seconds. Add stock, soy sauce, salt, sugar, MSG, and sesame oil. Bring to a boil.
  • Gently fold in tofu. Simmer 2 minutes.
  • Stir cornstarch and water together into a slurry. Add to wok and stir gently until sauce thickens to a stirrable, saucy consistency. Add more stock if too thick.
  • Serve over rice and garnish with scallion greens
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