Delicious authentic Sichuan mapo tofu recipe made with minced meat, braised tender tofu, and spicy, savoury mapo sauce. One of the most popular Sichuan Chinese tofu recipes, packed with flavours. It goes really well with plain rice. Delicious dinner ready in 30 minutes!
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I love to cook Sichuan Chinese tofu dishes at home which are hot, numbing, and savoury in taste. Crispy Szechuan Tofu Stir Fry is my go-to meat-free dry stir fry dish that you will also love.
The colour, texture and flavourful of this dish are mouth-watering and so addictive. If you love tofu and spicy food, this dish is a must-try!
What is Mapo tofu?
Mapo tofu is a Sichuan Chinese dish that originated in China and is now famous across the world. 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.
Why you would love this recipe
This dish is so easy to make at home with a simple cooking process. All you need are tofu and classic Sichuan spices. You can customize the flavour to your preference when you cook it at home. 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.
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 do we need
Following is a quick guide with photos and detailed measurements on the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
What type of tofu to use? Use regular firm tofu or medium-firm tofu to make this dish. You can also use soft tofu if you cannot get firm tofu but do not mistake soft tofu with silken tofu. Soft tofu is pressed tofu like firm tofu but softer in texture, but silken tofu is unpressed, super silky tofu.
Minced meat - Add your choice of minced meat, beef, chicken, lamb, pork, ground turkey, etc. Instead of minced meat you can also add crumble eggs, or small chopped meat or mushroom.
Douchi ( 豆豉 ) - is a fermented salted Chinese black soybeans and is an essential condiment to add to Chinese stir-fries and sauces. Instead of black bean seeds, you can add black bean garlic sauce.
La Doubanjiang - is a key ingredient to make mapo tofu. It is a Chinese fermented chilli bean sauce made from broad beans and chillies and it has a spicy, salty, umami, rich flavour. You can buy it at Chinese supermarkets or Amazon online.
Sichuan peppercorn - It has a sizzling numbing hot sensation and you don't want to bite it in whole. Recommend adding freshly coarse ground Sichuan peppercorns.
Cornstarch slurry - Combine a teaspoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon of water to make a cornstarch slurry and add it to the sauce to achieve the glossy thick texture sauce.
Ginger & garlic - Freshly grated garlic and ginger are must-add ingredients to bring the fresh garlicky, pungent aroma.
How to make it?
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 a simmer. Season the dish with soy sauce, Shao Xing wine, and sugar.
- Now add the tofu cubes and stir them gently to combine well with the sauce. Continue to 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.
Top Tips
- You can adjust the consistency of the sauce by adding more water or less water. If you prefer a bit saucy you can add a bit more. If you prefer it dry, you might want to reduce the water.
- Use medium-frim or firm tofu to make mapo tofu. Do not recommend silken tofu for this recipe. Silken tofu is too soft and breaks apart easily when you add in the mapo sauce.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the tofu to prevent it from getting mushy and breaking apart.
- If you find your tofu is not very firm and is difficult to manage, you can blanch it in the hot boiling water for 1-2 minutes before adding it to the sauce.
- It is important to stir the dish gently after adding the tofu to keep them in its shape.
Ingredients Variations
Can I use silken tofu? Do not recommend adding silken tofu, as it can be easily broken apart and mushy in the sauce. Some restaurants use silken tofu but I personally don't like to use silken tofu in braised tofu dishes.
Vegetable add-ons - you can add extra vegetables like small dice of carrots, zucchini, mushroom, peas, and green beans. Pak choy, bok choy, choy sum, spinach, and mustard greens, are can be also added just right before finishing the dish.
Adjust the chilli bean - You might want to adjust the amount of doubanjiang, as the chilli and salt content can be varied according to the different brands you use.
Extra spices - You can sprinkle a dash of Chinese five spices powder and toasted ground Sichuan peppercorns just right before serving for an extra kick of flavour.
Chicken stock/broth - Instead of water, you can also add low-sodium chicken stock/broth for an extra rich umami flavour.
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.
Sugar - is an optional ingredient, I add a bit of sweetness of sugar to balance out the hotness and saltiness of mapo sauce.
How to serve with this dish
Mapo tofu tastes best when you serve it over a bowl of jasmine rice. Feel free to serve it with your choice of plain rice, Asian basic egg fried rice or noodles. You can also pair it with Chicken corn soup, Prawn spring rolls, or your choice of soup, appetizers, or side dishes and make it a complete dinner.
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 and is usually made of miso paste, oyster sauce, doubanjiang, and Japanese mirin, and is mild in flavour.
No, you don't need to use traditional Chinese wok to cook ma po tofu. You can cook with any large wok or pan that you already have at home. We usually cook with a large non-stick wok which is quick and easy to clean up.
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Spicy Sichuan Mapo Tofu
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. Crushed it into the coarse grind with a mortar pastel or food processor. Do not suggest adding in 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. Simply reheat it in the microwave or over the stovetop until piping hot.
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