Ma Po Tou Fu 麻婆豆腐

I followed Fuchsia Dunlop's recipe found in her book titled "Every Grain of Rice". I followed the recipe very closely but, of course, introduced a bit of improvisation.

Since I can't find the internet link to her recipe, I will type it out here for those interested:

Ingredients (5 generous servings, if you have meat)

500-600g plain white tofu (I think she is referring to the semi-firm tofu but I used soft tofu - two packets)

4 baby leeks or spring onions, green parts only (I find it a bit wasteful to use green parts only so I used the entire spring onion)

2 1/2 tbsp Sichuan chilli bean paste (this is a must-have but I did not use 2.5 tbsp. You'll need to adjust it according to your own taste)

1 tbsp fermented black beans (this falls under the optional but nice-to-have category)

2 tsp ground red chillies (optional, I did not use this)

1 tbsp finely chopped ginger, 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic (this is just a rough estimation, I think I used a little more than that)

1/2 cup vegetarian stock or water (I added half a piece of chicken stock cube to my water since I do not have any vegetarian stock)

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

2 tsp potato flour mixed with 2 tbsp water (I used corn starch and it is all an estimation)

1/4-1/2 tsp ground roasted Sichuan pepper (any purist would say this is a must-have but I did not have any in my dish)

200 g of ground pork




Instructions:

1. The original recipe recommend to par-cooked the tofu but I did not since I am using soft tofu.  I can see how that is necessary if you are using semi-hard tofu.

2. I browned the ground pork first then take it out of the pan.

3. In a clean pan, I fried the chilli bean paste until fragrant, then added garlic and ginger. Next I added the fermented black beans.

4. As Fuchsia warned in her cookbook "take care not to overheat the seasonings; you want a thick, fragrant sauce and the secret of this is to let them sizzle gently, allowing the oil to coax out their flavors and aromas".

5. Next I added the browned ground pork into the pan and stir fry it a few times. This is also when I added 90% of my chopped spring onion.

6. Finally, I added the soft tofu in the pan. I stir fried all of these very carefully. I broke apart the tofu but I dont want it to turn mushy, or as Fuchsia says it "dont damage the tofu".

7. Season with salt and pepper

8. Add the cornstarch water to thicken the sauce until your desired thickness.

9. Sprinkle the remaining scallion and serve. 




I can't say I have tried the most authentic Ma Po Tofu in my life since I have not been to the motherland of Ma Po Tofu; but this dish is surprisingly delicious. All the flavors blended together seamlessly. The chilli bean paste brings the heat, which makes the dish especially appetising.