Call this mapo-style because a home frypan is not a Sichuan restaurant and we are not claiming a house recipe. The backbone is still doubanjiang (chili-bean paste), tofu, a little meat or mushroom, and enough oil and starch to make a sauce that clings.
Ingredients
- 500g silken or soft tofu, cut into cubes
- 150g pork mince, or finely chopped mushrooms
- 1 1/2 tbsp chili-bean paste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 1 tsp ground Sichuan pepper, plus a little extra to finish
- 1 tsp fermented black beans, rinsed and chopped (optional)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp light soy
- 1 tsp dark soy
- 250ml light stock or water
- 1 tsp starch mixed with 1 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp oil
- Spring onion greens
Method
Blanch the tofu cubes in barely simmering salted water for a minute so they firm up; drain. Heat the oil, fry the mince or mushrooms until they take colour. Add chili-bean paste and stir until the oil goes red and smells cooked, not raw. Add garlic, ginger, black beans and half the Sichuan pepper.
Pour in stock, soy, dark soy and sugar. Slide in the tofu. Shake the pan rather than stirring hard. Simmer a few minutes. Add the starch slurry. The sauce should thicken enough to coat. Finish with more Sichuan pepper and spring onion.
Notes
Heat is the point, but you can reduce the paste. Do not skip the step of frying the paste in oil; that is where the flavour happens. Serve with rice and smashed cucumber. This is not a Cantonese dish. Keep the steamed fish for another night.