Mapo Tofu with Onions

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Traditional mapo “pock-marked” tofu dish from Sichuan, China with onions added in. This recipe as written is around medium spicy but adjustable depending on spice tolerance. It’s very easy to make vegetarian also!

Makes 3-4 servings.

Ingredients

  • 1.25 lb silken tofu
  • 1 white onion
  • 2 ½ Tbsp Lao Gan Ma Chili Oil with Fermented Soybeans
  • 4 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • ½ tsp Sichuan peppercorns
  • 1 Tbsp garlic (minced)
  • 1 Tbsp ginger (minced)
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • ¼  tsp white pepper powder
  • ½ tsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 3 stalks scallions
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 2 Tbsp water

Directions

  1. Bring a pot of water to boil, enough to fully submerge the volume of the tofu block. Once the water has boiled, turn off the heat. It’s important that the water is not constantly boiling.
  2. Cut the block of tofu (1.25 lb) into about ¾ inch cubes. I like to cut it in half horizontally first before creating the “cubes” vertically.
  3. Soak the tofu cubes in the hot water. Lightly salt the water, using roughly 2 Tbsp of salt depending on how much water you have.
  4. While the tofu is soaking, coarsely chop the white onion. Mince the garlic (1 Tbsp) and ginger (1 Tbsp) to prep. Finally, thinly slice the scallions (3 stalks) along the length of the stalk at a slight angle. The goal is to create thin strips, around 2 inches in length.
  5. Heat a wok or large pan on medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil (4 Tbsp) and heat for a few seconds until hot.
  6. Add the Lao Gan Ma Chili Oil with Fermented Soybeans (2 ½ Tbsp) and stir fry for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
  7. Next, stir in the Sichuan peppercorns (½ tsp) for around 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn the spices, or it will affect the flavor of the whole dish. If they do burn, I would recommend starting over at step 5.
  8. Add the garlic (1 Tbsp minced) and ginger (1 Tbsp minced) and stir fry quickly for about 30 seconds to 1 minute until fragrant.
  9. Remove the tofu cubes from the hot water with a strainer, and add to the wok, along with the chopped white onion, chicken stock (1 cup), white pepper powder (¼  tsp), chili powder (½ tsp) and some salt (2 tsp). Mix everything together and bring to a boil.
    • Note: To make this dish vegetarian, simply substitute the chicken stock with water.
    • Another note: You can reduce or omit the chili powder to make the dish less spicy overall.
  10. Let the tofu simmer on low, covered, for 10-15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. You should start to see the tofu become textured, or “pock-marked,” and the onions should turn transparent and cooked through.
    • Note: Ideally, the tofu should be textured but not falling apart. Some brands of tofu will fall apart no matter what you do however, so make sure to pick a good brand of silken tofu at the start.
    • Extra note: If there are no asian grocery stores near you, I’ve found that Trader Joe’s silken tofu works surprisingly well for this recipe.
  11. Add the the scallions (3 stalks, thinly sliced) and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, uncovered.
  12. In a small bowl, mix some cornstarch (2 tsp) in some water (2 Tbsp) to create a slurry. Add the cornstarch mix into the wok, and combine for about a minute until the sauce begins to thicken.
  13. Add additional salt to taste and then serve hot, ideally with steamed rice.