Day 37: China and Mapo Tofu

Hello, Raffies!

Today we enjoyed a wonderful spring day. My husband kept himself busy with gardening and landscaping, his newly found passion. I was patient enough to take him to the store and patiently wait for him to finish his shopping.

China is today’s country. There are so many different dishes and so many wonderful recipes for this so culinary rich country, that it was not easy to choose something. Since I wanted to change from the usual meat, fish or vegetable dish, I decided that something with tofu could have been a good idea. Thus, mapo tofu.

Mapo tofu is a dish originating in the region of Szechuan. Therefore it is quite spicy. The recipe is really simple and quick to prepare.

For this dish, I have followed a recipe from my Chinese cookbook, but here is an easy and delicious recipe:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tbsp hot bean paste

2 tbsp soy sauce

salt

500 g silken tofu, drained and cut into cubes

2 tbsp peanut oil

250 g ground pork

2 tbsp garlic, minced

2 tbsp ginger, minced

1 tbsp cornstarch diluted in 2 tbsp water

2 tsp sesame oil

1-2 tsp Sichuan peppercorn powder

3-4 tbsp spring onion, sliced

Steamed rice

Start by making the sauce: Mix the stock, bean paste, soy sauce and salt and set aside.

Now heat the oil in a wok and add the pork and fry until it is no longer pink. Add garlic and ginger and stir fry for 2 minutes.

Add the sauce to the pork and fry for a few minutes. Add the tofu to the wok and stir in the cornstarch and bring to a boil, until the mixture gets thick.

Turn off the heat and pour the sesame oil and the Sichuan pepper on top and sprinkle with the spring onions.

Serve with steamed white rice.