Spicy mapo tofu is one of the classics of the real local Chinese cuisine. Available almost everywhere in China, this fiery dish is coming from the province of Sichuan, famous for its spicy fare and Sichuan peppercorns. These little peppercorns add a lot of aroma and, when biting on them, a tingling and slightly numbing sensation on your tongue. In Sichuan, they are usually paired with chilies or chili powder. So they are in spicy mapo tofu, which is definitely one of my favourite Chinese meals!
Tofu with its plain taste is great for a meal like this one, because it can absorb all sorts of flavours. Even when bathed in this spicy sauce, it is still fairly mild and thus complementing the chilies.
“Mapo Tofu” for some odd reason literally means “pockmarked old woman beancurd”. Many Chinese dishes have flowery names, rooted somewhere in their long history. This one in real life has nothing to do with pockmarks, is eaten by young and old, and fairly easy to make. Apart from Sichuan peppercorns, you don’t even need a whole lot of exotic ingredients. Even the amount of chopping you need to do is limited for Chinese cuisine standards. If you love spicy food, you will love this dish.
What’s the spice 🌶
The tofu you use can be firm or soft – both are used in China to make mapo tofu. Just be extra careful when using the soft stuff because it is quite delicate and can easily disintegrate when stirred too heavily.
One thing central to this traditional dish is its amazing spice level. The people of Sichuan a famous for their love of chilies and Sichuan pepper. In the summer, they slurp cold rice noodles topped with spoonfuls of chopped chilies and not much else. In the winter, chili-infused steam evaporates from small roadside restaurants serving hot pot – a shared dinner where patrons cook vegetables, meat, fish balls or tofu in a broth full of chilies and Sichuan pepper. Nothing here can be TOO spicy – just too bland.
So when cooking this dish, you can go all out native Sichuanese and use 10 chilies, a tablespoon of Sichuan pepper and a heaped spoonful of chili paste. This is usually too much for anyone from outside this Chinese province. During our many years in China, our tolerance and love for spiciness grew a lot over time. But, no, we do not use 10 chilies for mapo tofu! This recipe therefore suggests a more moderate spiciness – so if you are all in for burning tastebuds, spice it up! But be careful and try first before adding too much chili or chili paste.
Ingredients 🌶
For this dish, Sichuan people use dried chilies rather than fresh ones. De-seed chilies if you prefer a somewhat reduced heat. The seeds carry a large share of the chili’s spiciness. If you use the seeds, your tofu will thus be a lot spicier than without the seeds. Dried chilis are available in Asia supermarkets and can be stored in your pantry for a long time when kept dry.
The chili paste is for taste as well as red colour. This paste also contains salt, so it adds an additional depth of flavour to your tofu as well as spiciness. The more you use, the less salt and soy sauce you’d need. And, if you can get your hands on chili bean paste, grab it! This is the really authentic stuff, and it can be hard to find. It contains slightly salted black beans which give the dish an additional zing. But if not available, traditional red chili paste does the trick as well.
Sichuan pepper, as already mentioned, is essential for spicy mapo tofu. It is widely available in Asian groceries in the West. There are two different kinds – a red one and a greenish-blackish version. Only the black Sichuan pepper creates the tingling that we are looking for. So I recommend you to use this one.
Soy sauce is a central ingredient in Chinese cooking to give it the distinct tangy flavour and a bit of colour. It is often used not as replacement of salt but as additional ingredient. Soy sauce contains a bit of gluten, so use the Japanese soy sauce tamari as a gluten-free alternative. It is darker, less salty, and has a strong umami flavor. Start with a tablespoon as described in the recipe for soy sauce. Taste the tofu and add a bit more if you would like to add more flavour.
We fry our Chinese spicy tofu with rapeseed oil. But many locals use homemade pork lard and swear it tastes even better. If you like that idea, just try it, using the same amount as for the oil.
I also use minced beef instead of the traditional pork. Feel free to replace beef with minced pork if you prefer that.
Vegan option 🥬
You can easily change this spicy mapo tofu recipe into a vegetarian/vegan meal. Just exchange the beef for the same amount of vegan mince or finely cut brown mushrooms, such as shiitake mushrooms. You can prepare the dish in the same way as described in the recipe. Just sub the vegan options for the meat.
Instructions 🔪
Mapo Tofu is a typical Chinese dish, made in steps – each ingredient at a time, before things are merged together to a flavourful whole.
Here, you will start boiling your tofu cubes before creating a spicy oil mixture. Then, in the last step, you will fry the spring onions together with the meat/vegan mince/mushrooms and the chili paste. And in the last step, you will merge everything together. Ready?
First of all, as with every Chinese dish, there is plenty of chopping work to do. Finely chop your chilies, ginger and garlic. Cut the tofu into cubes. Finely slice the spring onions, keeping white and green parts apart.
When all that is done, let’s start cooking! First step: Heat some salt water in your wok. Slide your tofu cubes in and cook them for cook them for 2-3 minutes. If they aren’t covered by the water, add a little bit more. Do not cook the tofu for too long! Drain and set aside. Quickly dry your wok.
For the second step, put oil to medium heat in a wok, and quickly fry the Sichuan peppercorns and chilies until fragrant. This will be quick, so be careful not to burn them. Once they start emitting a distinct scent, pull the wok from the heat source. Fill spices and oil into a small bowl and set aside to cool.
Wipe your wok clean with a paper towel, as you don’t want to leave any charred spice pieces inside. Then put it on low heat for the third step, adding oil. Toss the ginger, garlic, white parts of spring onion and minced meat into the hot oil, and mix everything with a pinch of salt. Stir-fry for a few minutes. Then, gently shove the mix up the sides of your wok to form an empty circle in the middle. Add another dollop of oil into the empty circle. Once it’s hot, put the chili paste into this oil and stir for 10-20 seconds. Then swirl the paste into the mix, stirring well.
Now to the grand finale: Add the fried Sichuan pepper and chilies from step one. Mix everything well and keep the heat low. Then, pour in about 100ml of water and add the tofu cubes to the wok. Stir a bit and add a teaspoon of soy sauce or tamari. Bring to the boil again briefly and then immediately reduce the heat. Keep simmering tofu a short while. Add more water if the mix gets too dry. You will want to retain a little bit of saucy liquid. Taste it and add a bit more soy sauce if you need more umami. Done!
Serving 🥢
Garnish your spicy Chinese mapo tofu with the sliced green parts of the spring onion before serving. For the full low carb experience, serve it with cauliflower rice that is quick and easy to make yourself. A quick tip for the timing: Chop and blend the cauli into ‘rice’ before making the tofu. Frying this cauliflower rice is so quick that it is no problem if you do this after you finish making the mapo tofu.
Zip on a beer or plenty of lemon-infused soda water to wash down the spice!
Spicy mapo tofu can be a standalone dish as much as part of a larger dinner with several shared dishes. That is how Chinese families eat their meals. They place several dishes in the middle of their table, while everyone receives a bowl of rice. Then, all diners help themselves from the shared plates.
What kind of dish could you serve this spicy, tangy, saucy tofu dish along with? It goes perfectly well with clean, crunchy, healthy Asian vegetable sides.
- quick stir-fried broccoli with garlic
- Spicy cabbage stir-fry
- stir-fried baby bok choy with garlic
- or you choose juicy kung pao chicken with peanuts for yet more Sichuan fare and spice.
As my blog is still fairly new, more Chinese and Asian recipes will come up in the future. In the meantime, check blogs like The woks of Life for more options – many Asian dishes are low carb by nature!
Enjoy your meal!
delicious and spicy mapo tofu from China
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Description
Spicy tofu from China! Soft and delicious tofu cubes immersed in a fiery sauce full of chili, Sichuan pepper and a little bit of minced beef.
Ingredients
Serving 2 as a full meal or more as part of a Chinese dinner with several shared dishes
400g tofu, cubed
50g minced beef (you can also use pork)
1–2 tbsp chili paste (or chili bean paste if available) – use smaller amount for a milder flavour, and more if you like it really spicy. If your heat tolerance is low, start with teaspoons or the first time. You can add more chili paste at any point of the cooking afterwards. The chili paste contains salt, so the more you use, the less extra salt you need.
1–2 mid-sized dried chilies, finely chopped – use smaller amount for a milder spiciness or more if you like it fiery hot. De-seed chilies for reduced heat; if you use the seeds, your tofu will be a lot spicier than without the seeds.
1 garlic clove, sliced
1 inch fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns (preferably the greenish-black kind)
1–2 sprigs of spring onion, chopped – white and green parts separated
1 tbsp dark soy sauce or tamari
rapeseed oil for frying
water to add to the sauce and to boil the tofu
Instructions
- Pour some water into your wok and add salt. Bring salted water to the boil on medium heat. Carefully slip in the tofu cubes and cook them for 2-3 minutes. You need enough water to cover the tofu cubes. If they aren’t covered by the water, add a little bit more. Do not cook the tofu for too long! Drain and set aside.
- Wipe your wok dry. Put oil to medium heat in a wok, and add the Sichuan peppercorns and chilies. Fry them until fragrant. This will be quick, so be careful not to burn them. Set aside to cool.
- Swipe the wok clean with a paper towel and put it on low heat, adding oil. Toss in the ginger, garlic, white parts of spring onion and minced meat with a pinch of salt. Stir-fry for a few minutes. Then, gently shove the mix up the sides of your wok to form an empty circle in the middle. Add another dollop of oil into the empty circle. Once it’s hot, put your chili paste into this oil and stir for 10-20 seconds until you can smell its fragrance. Then swirl the paste into the mix
- Add your previously fried Sichuan pepper and chilies. Mix everything well and keep the heat low.
- Stir in about 100ml of water and then add the tofu cubes to the wok. Stir a bit and add a teaspoon of soy sauce or tamari.
- Bring to the boil again briefly and then immediately reduce the heat. Keep simmering tofu a short while. Add more water if the mix gets too dry. You will want to retain a little bit of saucy liquid. Taste it and add a bit more soy sauce if you need more umami. Done!
- Fill tofu into a deep serving plate and sprinkle with green parts of your spring onion. Serve with cauliflower rice.
Notes
Sub beef for the same amount of vegan mince or finely chopped brown mushrooms for a plant-based meal! Prepare it in exactly the same fashion by adding the mushrooms when you’d otherwise add the meat.
- Category: meals
- Method: stir fry and simmer
- Cuisine: Chinese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 portion
- Calories: 350
- Fat: 25.7g
- Carbohydrates: 8.3g net carbs
- Protein: 24.1g
