Pork and Mushroom Mapo Tofu

Mapo Tofu is a popular Chinese dish from Sichuan Province, and it features the famous spice from the region–the Sichuan Peppercorn–which imparts a truly unique tingling, numbing sensation and floral citrusy flavor. With savory bites of ground pork and mushrooms, fiery sauce, and soft and silky cubes of tofu, this dish has so much aroma, texture and flavor. It’s no wonder that Mapo Tofu is beloved in Sichuan and all over the world.

 
 

Yield: Serves 4-6

Method

  1. In a saucepan with boiling water, blanch the tofu cubes for 1 minute. Gently strain and set aside.

  2. Heat a wok over high heat.

  3. Add ½ the vegetable oil to a very hot wok. Add the mushrooms and the ground pork and stir fry until the meat is cooked and all liquid has evaporated. Remove from the wok and reserve.

  4. Add the remaining vegetable oil to the wok without cleaning it. Add the shallots, ginger, garlic, sliced white part of the scallion (reserving the green for garnish) and stir fry for a few minutes until fragrant.

  5. Add the doubanjiang, Szechuan peppercorns, and fermented black beans, and stir fry for a few minutes. It can become bitter if burned.

  6. Add the mushroom and pork mixture back to the wok.

  7. In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce, vinegar, cornstarch, sesame oil and stock. Add the mixture to the wok, stirring until it boils and thickens slightly.

  8. Turn down the heat, and very gently stir in the tofu to coat.

  9. Garnish with the green sliced scallions and serve with steamed rice.

Ingredients

16 oz. silken tofu, cut in ½-inch cubes  

1 oz. vegetable oil

8 oz. cremini mushrooms, finely chopped

6 oz. ground pork

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 oz. ginger, finely chopped

1 oz. garlic, finely chopped

2 scallions, sliced, white and green separated

2 Tbsp. Doubanjiang (spicy bean paste) or sambal

1 Tbsp. Szechuan peppercorns, ground

1 Tbsp. fermented black beans, chopped

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. black vinegar or rice vinegar

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 Tbsp. sesame oil

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

This recipe and video were produced by The Culinary Institute of America as an industry service,
thanks to the generous support of the Mushroom Council.