Mapo tofu

Mr. Shuffler was visiting last weekend so the quality of the cooking around here went way up. One of the things he made me was a Chinese dish called Mapo tofu, which literally translates to “Pock-marked Face Lady’s Tofu.” Sounds yummy, right? Original recipe can be found here. (Unfortunately, I’m having trouble posting the picture of the finished dish. Apologies for the technical issues!)

Ingredients:

• Marinade for Ground Pork:
• 1 1/2 Tbsp tapioca starch (can substitute cornstarch)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Other:
• 1/4 pound ground pork
• 1 pound regular tofu (medium firmness)
• 1 leek or 3 green onions
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp Chinese salted black beans (fermented black beans, also called Chinese black beans), or to taste
• 1 Tbsp chili bean paste, or to taste
• 3 Tbsp stock (chicken broth)
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp light soy sauce
• Freshly ground Szechuan pepper
• 2 – 3 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, as needed
• We added 1/2 a sweet red pepper and 1/2 orange pepper to increase the vegetable content of the dish.

Preparation:

Mix marinade ingredients.  Marinate pork for about 20 minutes.
Cut the tofu (bean curd) into 1/2 inch (1 cm) square cubes, and blanch (drop into boiling water) for 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from boiling water and drain.
Chop leek or green onions into short lengths.
Heat wok and add oil.  When oil is ready, add the marinated pork. Stir-fry pork until the color darkens. If desired, add 1 chopped sweet pepper. Add salt and stir. Add the salted black beans. Mash the beans with a cooking ladle until they blend in well with the meat. Add the chili paste, then the stock, bean curd, and leek or green onions. Turn down the heat.  Cook for 3 – 4 minutes.

While cooking, mix cornstarch, water, and soy sauce together. Add to wok and stir gently. Serve with freshly ground Szechuan pepper