Mapo Tofu with Ground Pork

Recipe Source: The Food of China and some experimentation

Recipe Result: Great taste and texture

As much as I like meat, I do enjoy some tofu every now and then, and I don't think that tofu necessarily has to be a meat-substitute. That's why I love mapo tofu; the soft tofu complements the minced pork, and the chili-bean paste makes it really spicy and hearty. Back in college, there was a Pan-Asian restaurant near campus, Lulu's Noodles, and one of their best dishes was the mapo tofu. Instead of ground pork, they used sliced barbecue pork... outstanding. I especially liked how my friend Mona, a native Mandarin speaker, translated the name to "Old Bitch Tofu," and referred to Girish as such for ordering it every time.

The cookbook I got the recipe from didn't do a very good job of giving this recipe a lot of flavor. Every time I followed the recipe exactly, the sauce was really bland and watery and the tofu lacked flavor (surprise, surprise). But I tried messing around with the amount of soy sauce used, when to add the tofu to the pan, and the amount of broth to add at the end for the final sauce. I think the recipe I've got now is definitely a step up from the book's. You can find my version after the jump.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 lb ground pork

- 3 Tbsp dark soy sauce

- 1 tsp sesame oil

- 1 pkg (~14oz) soft or silken tofu

- 1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger

- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced

- 2 scallions, thinly sliced

- 1 Tbsp hot bean paste (doubanjiang)

- 2/3 cup beef broth

- 1.5 Tbsp shaoxing rice wine

- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce

- 1 tsp corn starch

Procedure:

1. Combine the ground pork, 1 Tbsp of the soy sauce, and the sesame oil in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Set aside.

2. Open up the tofu package and drain out the water. Lay down some folded paper towels on a plate, put the block of tofu on top, and put another folded paper towel on top of it. Rest a relatively heavy pot on top of the tofu for a minute, so that more moisture is drawn out. Discard the paper towels and dice the tofu into 1" cubes. Set aside.

3. In a hot nonstick frying pan, stir-fry the pork mixture, constantly moving the pork around and breaking it up into small pieces. When all of it has browned, remove from the pan and set aside. Pour any remaining liquid out of the pan.

4. In the same hot frying pan, heat up 2 or 3 tsp of cooking oil and saute the ginger and garlic until it is fragrant, maybe 20-30 seconds. Next add the bean paste to the pan and stir for 30 sec.

5. Add the diced tofu to the pan. Let the tofu heat up in the mixture over medium-high heat for 5 min, occasionally stirring very carefully (you don't want to break up the tofu too much).

6. Combine the beef broth, the remaining 2 Tbsp of soy sauce, the rice wine, and the oyster sauce. Add it to the pan with the tofu and ginger/garlic/bean mixture. Bring the pan to a boil on high heat, then let it simmer on medium heat until the liquid has reduced a little (5-8 min).

7. In a separate cup, dissolve the corn starch in 1 Tbsp of water so that it becomes a thin paste. Stir it into the frying pan over medium heat, so that the sauce will thicken. Top with the sliced scallions.