A couple of years ago I tried cooking a Sze Chuan (a province in China) dish called Mapo Tofu. I failed horribly. The tofu and ground pork turned out tasting pretty nasty for whatever reason I can't recall now. I ended up throwing the whole dish away because just the smell of it was enough to cause nausea. I never tried cooking it ever since, that is, until a few weeks ago I came across the Mapo tofu paste in a chinese shop in Provo, Utah. I decided since my cooking skill has improved since the failed attempt two years ago, I should redeem myself this time.
A couple of days ago, I finally took out the paste sitting in my pantry and used it. I was pretty nervous about it but it turned out to be DELICIOUS! My jaw dropped when I tried a tiny piece of tofu. It was a miracle!! My husband and mother-in-law loved it too.
On the side note, Mapo tofu is a great way to take away the blandness of the tofu. It's so worth the try.
Ingredients:
--A packet of Mapo tofu paste (there are many kinds. It doesn't matter which kind you use).
--A packet of extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1 inch cubes.
--4 oz or a cup (if you must know the exact measurement, check the converter on the side) of ground pork.
--Some spring onion, chopped.
--A teaspoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoon of warm water. (If the paste that you buy has already included a small bag of potato starch, then skip this).
--2 teaspoon of vegetable oil/ cooking oil
Instructions:
1. Heat the non-stick pan with the oil on medium-high fire.
2. Stir fry the ground pork til it starts to turn from red to brown.
3. Stir in the tofu and the packet of Mapo Tofu paste.
4. Stir fry for about 3 minutes.
5. Pour in the cornstarch (or potato starch) and stir the mixture.
6. Throw in the spring onion and stir fry for about 30 seconds.
7. When the paste is boiling, remove from heat.
Happy Cooking!! This is a must try!
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