Mapo Tofu with Ground Pork
Silken tofu simmered in a doubanjiang-and-ground-pork sauce until it turns fire-red, ready in less time than the rice underneath it.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Written
Method
-
Bring a pot of water to a bare simmer, slide in the tofu cubes, and let them sit off heat for 5 minutes to firm up and season. Drain gently.
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Heat the oil in a wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and break it up, cooking until it’s browned and the fat has rendered, about 4 minutes.
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Push the pork to one side, add the doubanjiang and black beans to the cleared spot, and stir until the oil around them turns red and smells toasted, about 1 minute.
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Add the garlic and ginger, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
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Pour in the stock, soy sauce, and sugar, then stir everything together and bring to a simmer.
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Slide in the tofu and simmer gently, spooning sauce over the top, for 5 minutes without stirring hard enough to break the cubes apart.
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Stir in the cornstarch slurry and simmer until the sauce clings to the tofu instead of pooling, about 1 minute.
-
Scatter the Sichuan peppercorn and scallions over the top and serve over rice.
Notes
The blanch is the one step that looks skippable and isn’t: a minute in hot water seasons the tofu through and firms it just enough to survive simmering without turning to mush. After that, disturb the pan as little as possible — stir by shaking the pan or sliding a spatula flat along the bottom, not by chopping through the cubes.
Doubanjiang varies a lot by brand; taste the sauce before you salt anything further, since some are considerably saltier than others. Swap the pork for extra tofu or mushrooms and use vegetable stock for a vegetarian version — the doubanjiang and black beans carry enough savoriness to not miss the meat.