*above picture was added (old removed) 11/16/13
Ma Po Tofu is actually very easy to make. It’s one of the first recipes I asked my mom to teach me. It’s a little difficult to give you exact measurements for the recipe though. There are so many types of tofu, from silken to firm, all giving off different amounts of water when cooked. All of them taste good. It’s just a matter of preference. The picture above is one made with medium firm tofu, which Lon prefers. The one below is a soft tofu, which I like equally as much as the firmer tofu. This recipe is also quite mild, suitable for most, but if you like things spicy, you can add more chili garlic sauce.
Ma Po Tofu
~2 servings
Ingredients
- 5 ounces ground pork
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce + extra
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch + extra
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 box or block of tofu (usually 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 pounds without liquid), cut into 1″ squares
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
- 1/2 cup frozen peas (optional)
- rice for serving (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together pork, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons corn starch, and sugar. Set aside.
- In a 3 ½ quart pot, heat vegetable oil on medium flame. Add pork mixture and break it up as it cooks. Stir until cooked through.
- Add tofu and water. Stir, but try not to break it up too much.
- Add garlic and chili garlic sauce. Bring to a boil.
- Turn the heat down to a simmer and heat uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in frozen peas (if using) and cook for 1 minute, until peas are no longer frozen. (I’ve also made this with edamame before and it’s a great variation.
- Depending on the strength of your soy sauce and the amount of water the tofu releases, you may have to adjust. Taste and add soy sauce if it’s not salty enough. If the sauce has not thickened enough, mix 1-2 teaspoons cornstarch with 2 -3 teaspoons water to form a slurry, and stir that in, in a slow stream.
- Serve immediately. I love it on top of rice.
Both look like pure comfort goodness!
YEAH for ma po tofu…one of my favorite’s. It is awesome that this dish was one of your first learned, kind of like my risotto.
I love ma po tofu, but yours looks much better than what I’ve had in the past. I have never seen any liquid, just dryness, so this is a welcome recipe that I’ll probably try next week given I have both pork and tofu on hand. I’m really looking forward to recreating this, and I think husband will like it too–tofu is hard to palate for him, but when it’s paired with pork I doubt he’ll protest!
Thank you! I love this dish.
This looks really good! And healthy!
Wow!
Well, I’ve never had this, but it looks and sounds like it could very easily become a new favorite.
Where can you find chili garlic sauce? Is it in Asian grocery stores? And if you don’t have it, can you use anything else as a substitute?
Btw, I just recently discovered your blog and it’s on my daily blog list now. =)
Christina, welcome to our world!
Yes, chili garlic sauce is available at Asian groceries. If you can’t find it, you can use sriracha, but it will be a bit different.
Hoorah to MaPo Tofu…it is my favourite dish~! I love reading your blog because you post good recipes and interesting posts. ;o)
Sreddy
Szechuan peppercorns are an essential ingredient to get the taste right. My Taiwanese mother-in-law loves my own recipe that I perfected from combining several recipes that I read.
Marc, Ma Po Tofu is one of those dishes that is eaten in many regions and varies from place to place, home to home. I am partial to this recipe because it’s the way my mom makes it. I acknowledge that most people are more familiar with the style served at Szechuan restaurants with Szechuan Peppercorn but I just never like that one as much. That being said, I’d still love to give your recipe a shot. =)
I’ll be glad to share. I stir fry 3 or 4 cloves of diced garlic with an equal amount of diced ginger until slightly browned, add 3 sliced scallion onions and stir fry an additional minute. Then add chili bean sauce to taste, about 1/2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns, 1 tbs fermented soy paste, 1 cup of water and 1 pack of soft or medium firm diced tofu. When it simmers, thicken appropriately with cornstarch and garnish with freshly chopped scallions, then serve over rice. Hope you like it!
I forget to include a 1/2 cup of ground pork to be added with the garlic and ginger, stirfried for a minute before adding the scallions…
I was writing the recipe from memory at work; two changes to add: I used chili garlic sauce, not chili bean sauce, and don’t forget to add soy sauce to taste, 1 or 2 tablespoons.
Thanks Marc. Which fermented soy paste?
Don’t remember the brand off hand, and probably couldn’t read the name anyway, and because it doesn’t last too long after its opened, I can’t check the frige. It is light tan in color and comes in a celophane soft wrapper that I got at H Mart.