Most stir-fries I can make well, even very good, but they’re never quite as good as your average mom and pop Chinese restaurant. I guess I can never time the vegies to come out just-right crisp, nor can I make the meat so tender and velvety.
But Ma Po Tofu, wow, can I make that stuff. It’s a dish of spicy ground pork in a reddish, highly-flavored sauce, intermingled with lots ‘n’ lots of cubed tofu. It’s Chinese comfort food, and it’s damned easy to make well.
We had it for dinner last night, and I spooned the leftovers into a tupperware container with lots of rice, and my husband microwaved it at work today for lunch. He said folks were turning up sniffing the air and asking if he had any to spare.
I had to find it again online. Here we go, from Epicurious.com:
For sauce
* 1/4 cup chicken broth
* 2 tablespoons hot bean paste (I used Lee Kum Kee)
* Additional hot chili sauce of your choice if you like it extra spicy
* 2 tablespoons soy sauce
* Salt to taste
* 1 lb regular or soft (not silken) tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
* 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons corn, peanut, or canola oil
* 1/2 lb ground pork shoulder (preferably 75% lean)
* 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
* 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon finely minced peeled fresh ginger
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
* 1 1/2 teaspoons Japanese sesame oil
* 1/2 to 1 teaspoon toasted Sichuan-peppercorn powder
* 3 tablespoons thinly sliced scallion
* Accompaniment: steamed rice
Cut tofu into 1/2" cubes.
Make sauce:
Stir together broth, bean paste, soy sauce, and kosher salt. Set aside.
Stir-fry pork:
Heat a wok or large heavy skillet over high heat until hot and add 1 1/2 tablespoons corn oil, swirling to coat. Add pork and stir-fry, breaking up lumps, until no longer pink. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry over moderate heat until very fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Finish stir-fry:
Stir reserved sauce, then add to pork and bring to a simmer. Add tofu cubes and 1/2 cup of water and let the mixture simmer for a minute or two to heat up the tofu.
Stir cornstarch mixture and add to stir-fry. Bring to a boil, stirring gently, and cook until thickened and glossy, about 15 seconds.
Turn off heat and sprinkle with sesame oil, Sichuan-peppercorn powder to taste, and 2 tablespoons scallion. Stir once or twice, then serve sprinkled with remaining tablespoon scallion.
Thank you! I’ve made this before, forgot all about it, and it is tasty indeed! There have been lots of Chinese cooking threads here about how stuff doesn’t come out like the restaurant version, but this recipe has no vegetables that have to be cooked juuuust so.
I’ve never heard of that dish. Tofu dishes aren’t very popular out here in Wrangler Land. You made it sound really good though. Writing it down so I can try it.
I can make a darn good stir fry and my deep fried pork won tons are at least as good as any I’ve purchased at a restaurant around here, but I still can’t manage the perfection of MSG laden mom and pop Mandrian Chicken.
