Delicious authentic Sichuan Mapo Fofu recipe, made with minced meat, braised tender tofu, and spicy, savoury mapo sauce. One of the most popular Chinese tofu recipes, packed with flavours. It goes really well with plain rice. Delicious dinner ready in 30 minutes!
The vibrant colour, soft tofu texture and aroma of this dish are mouth-watering and so addictive. If you love tofu and spicy food, this dish is a must-try!
I love to cook Sichuan Chinese tofu dishes at home which are hot, numbing, and savoury in taste. Szechuan Tofu Stir Fry is my go-to meat-free dry stir fry dish that you will also love.
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The cooking method can be different according to the family own's recipe. In this recipe, I am sharing our family's favourite spicy mapo tofu recipe with sauce, as I love to serve it over plain jasmine rice.
What is Mapo tofu?
Mapo tofu is a Sichuan Chinese dish that originated in China and is now famous worldwide. You can even find it on the menu of Chinese restaurants in the US, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia, etc.
This dish is also known as Mapo Dou Fu ( 麻婆豆腐) in Chinese and Mabo Dofu ( マーボー豆腐 ) in Japanese. It is named after the description of the creator vendor lady with a pockmarked face.
A perfect combination of tofu, minced meat, and Sichuan sauce. Authentic mapo tofu is made with soft tofu and beef or pork mince, braised in a spicy sauce. If you are a fan of spicy Chinese food, you might also enjoy these Sichuan cuisines such as Kung Po Prawns, Kung Pao Chicken and Dan Dan Noodles.
Ingredients
Please scroll and see detailed measurements on the recipe card.
- Tofu: Use regular firm tofu or medium-firm tofu to make this dish.
- Minced meat: You can add your choice of minced meat, such as beef, chicken, lamb, pork, or ground turkey.
- Douchi ( 豆豉 ): is a fermented salted Chinese black soybeans and is an essential condiment to add to Chinese stir-fries and sauces.
- La Doubanjiang: is a key ingredient in making mapo tofu. It is a Chinese fermented chilli bean sauce made from broad beans and chillies with a rich flavour and spicy, salty, umami.
Seasonings & Spices
- Sichuan peppercorn: It has a sizzling, numbing, hot sensation, and you don't want to bite it whole. I recommend adding freshly coarse ground Sichuan peppercorns.
- Dried crushed chillies
- Chilli powder
- Soy Sauce
- Sugar
- Ginger & garlic
- Shao Xing cooking rice wine
- Cornstarch slurry
Variations
- Mapo tofu can be cooked, saucy, or dry. This dish is very versatile; you can swap it with your choice of minced meat or add extra vegetables.
- Instead of minced meat, you can add crumbled eggs or small chopped meat or mushrooms.
- To make mapo tofu, use medium or firm tofu. If you cannot get firm tofu, you can also use soft tofu, but do not mistake soft tofu with silken tofu.
- Instead of fermented black bean seeds, you can add black bean garlic sauce.
- Vegetable add-ons: you can add extra vegetables like small dice of carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, peas, and green beans. Pak choy, bok choy, choy sum, spinach, and mustard greens can also be added just right before finishing the dish.
- Extra spices: For an extra kick of flavour, sprinkle a dash of Chinese five-spice powder and toasted ground Sichuan peppercorns just before serving.
- Chicken stock/broth: For an extra rich umami flavour, add low-sodium chicken stock/broth instead of water.
Top Tips
- You can adjust the consistency of the sauce by adding more or less water. If you prefer it a bit saucy, you can add a bit more. If you prefer it dry, you might want to reduce the water.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the tofu to prevent it from getting mushy and breaking apart.
- If your tofu is not very firm and difficult to manage, you can blanch it in hot, boiling water for 1-2 minutes before adding it to the sauce.
- It is essential to stir the dish gently after adding the tofu to keep it in shape.
- You might want to adjust the amount of doubanjiang, as the chili and salt content can vary depending on the brands you use.
Instructions
- First, heat the wok/pan over medium heat, drizzle oil and saute the garlic and ginger for a few seconds until fragrant.
- Next, add the fermented black beans, followed by the crushed chillies and Sichuan peppercorns. Cook for a few seconds until fragrant. Stir in chilli powder and chilli bean paste.
- Place the minced meat and stir fry everything well until the meat is dry and crisp up.
- Then, pour in the warm water and bring it to a simmer. Season the dish with soy sauce, Shao Xing wine, and sugar.
- Add the tofu cubes and stir gently to combine well with the sauce. Continue to cook with low, medium heat for another 10 minutes or until the tofu is cooked.
- Add cornstarch slurry to the sauce and stir it gently.
- Once the sauce thickens, turn off the heat and finish with chopped spring onions.
- Serve immediately while hot with plain rice or noodles.
Serving Suggestions
Mapo tofu tastes best when served over a bowl of jasmine rice. Feel free to serve it with your choice of plain rice or Egg fried rice. You can also pair it with Chicken Sweetcorn Soup, Prawn spring rolls, Smashed Cucumber Salad or your choice of soup, appetizers, or side dishes to make it a complete dinner.
Storage and Reheating
Do not recommend freezing mapo tofu as the tofu texture might change when you reheat it.
But if you have any leftovers, you can store them in an air-tight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat it in the microwave or over the stovetop until piping hot.
FAQ
It has a savoury, umami, hot, and slightly numbing taste. A perfect combination of tender braised tofu, minced meat and spicy sauce.
You can cook mild mapo tofu by reducing the amount of the hot chilli bean paste ( La Doubanjiang ) or use regular mild fermented broad bean paste ( Doubanjiang ).
You can omit or adjust the amount of Sichuan peppercorns, crushed chillies, and chilli powder. To achieve the vibrant red mapo sauce, you can add mild paprika powder to the sauce instead of hot chilli powder and crushed chillies.
The main difference is the sauce. Japanese mapo sauce does not contain Sichuan chillies and Sichuan peppercorns. It is usually made of miso paste, oyster sauce, doubanjiang, and Japanese mirin, and it has a mild flavour.
No, you don't need to use a traditional Chinese wok to cook ma po tofu. You can use any large wok or pan that you already have at home. We usually use a large non-stick wok, which is quick and easy to clean up.
Do not recommend silken tofu for this recipe. Silken tofu is too soft mushy and breaks apart easily when cooking with the mapo sauce. Soft tofu is pressed, like firm tofu, but smoother in texture. Silken tofu is unpressed, super silky and breaks apart easily.
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📖 Recipe
Mapo Tofu Recipe
Equipment
- Large wok/pan Nonstick or traditional
Ingredients
- 200 gram Tofu block Firm or medium-firm tofu ( About 7 oz )
- 200 gram Chicken mince Or beef, pork, or turkey mince (About 7 oz )
- 2 tbsp Garlic Finely chopped
- 2 tsp Ginger Finely chopped or grated
- 2-3 Spring onions Cut thin slices
- ½ cup Water Warm water/ low-sodium chicken stock ( add more if needed )
- 3 tbsp Oil Vegetable or neutral flavour oil
- 1 tsp Corn starch ( mixed it with 2 tbsp of water )
Spices and Seasonings
- 1 tbsp Light soy sauce ( or all-purpose soy sauce )
- 1 tbsp Shao Xing wine Chinese cooking rice wine or mirin
- 1 tbsp Chilli powder Or paprika powder
- 1 tbsp Crushed chillies dried crushed chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns Crushed or grinded
- 1 tbsp Fermented black beans Douchi ( see details in note )
- 2-3 tbsp Chilli bean paste La Doubanjiang ( see details in note )
- 2 tsp Sugar ( optional )
Instructions
- Prepare and gather the ingredients, before you heat the wok. First, heat the wok/pan over medium heat, drizzle oil and saute the garlic and ginger for a few seconds until fragrant.
- Next, add the fermented black beans and follow with the crushed chillies and Sichuan peppercorns. Cook for a few seconds until fragrant. Stir in chilli powder and chilli bean paste.
- Place the minced meat and stir fry everything well until the meat is dry and crisp up.
- Then pour the warm water in and bring it to simmer. Season the dish with soy sauce, Shao Xing wine, and sugar.
- Now add the tofu cubes and stir it gently to combine well with the sauce. Continue cook with low medium heat for another 10 minutes or until the tofu is cooked through.
- Add cornstarch slurry to the sauce and stir it gently. Once the sauce starts to get thicken, turn off the heat and finish with chopped spring onions.
- Serve immediately while hot with plain rice or noodles.
Notes
- Tofu bean curd - Use regular firm tofu, medium-firm, or soft tofu. Do not recommend silken tofu for this recipe. Available at Chinese/Oriental Asian grocery stores or supermarkets' vegan/vegetarian fridge sections.
- Protein choice - Instead of chicken mince, you can add beef, lamb, pork, ground turkey, etc.
- Fermented black bean - is also called Douchi and is made with salted fermented black soybeans. You can substitute it with black bean garlic sauce if you cannot find it.
- Spicy chilli bean sauce/paste - is called La Doubanjiang and is made from fermented broad beans and chillies. A must-add ingredient to this recipe.
- Vegetarian mapo tofu - to cook vegetarian and vegan mapo tofu, you can swap minced meat with vegan minced meat, finely chopped fresh mushrooms or dried shiitake mushrooms.
- Sichuan peppercorn - It has a sizzling, numbing hot sensation. Crush it into a coarse grind with a mortar and pestle or food processor. Do not suggest adding it whole.
- Can you freeze or reheat it? Do not recommend freezing mapo tofu, but if you have any leftovers, you can store them in an air-tight container and keep it in the fridge for a couple of days. Reheat it in the microwave or over the stovetop until piping hot.
- Salt: I don't usually add extra salt because the chilli bean sauce, fermented black beans, and soy sauce contain salt. You might want to make a taste test and adjust the salt to taste before plating.
Priya Joi says
Can't wait to try this! I tried your prawn and mange tout stir fry and it was amazing.