Mapo tofu is the Sichuan dish of soft tofu and ground pork simmered in a deep red sauce, served over rice. It is loud where a lot of home cooking is polite: hot, a little numbing from Sichuan peppercorn, heavy on the fermented flavor that makes Sichuan food what it is. A plate of it over rice is one of the most satisfying cheap meals there is.

It comes together in one pan in about twenty minutes. The catch is that it depends on one specific ingredient, so the most important part of this recipe is knowing what to buy.

What you need #

• Soft or silken tofu, cut into cubes. The custardy texture against the spicy sauce is the whole point.
• Ground pork, less than you might think. It is here for flavor, not to be the main event.
• Doubanjiang, the spicy fermented broad bean paste. This is the ingredient that makes the dish. It provides the color, the savory depth, and much of the heat. You cannot substitute your way around it, so buy a jar from a Chinese supermarket.
• Garlic and ginger, minced.
• Sichuan peppercorn, optional but classic, for the numbing tingle.
• Green onion, soy sauce, a little cornstarch for thickening, and cooked rice to serve.

The steps #

1. Heat oil and cook the ground pork over high heat until it is done and a little crisp.
2. Add the garlic, ginger, and a good spoon of doubanjiang. Fry it in the oil for a minute until the oil turns red and fragrant. This step builds the flavor.
3. Pour in about a cup of water or broth and a splash of soy sauce, and bring it to a simmer.
4. Slide the tofu cubes in gently and simmer a few minutes so they soak up the sauce. Push the sauce around them rather than stirring hard, so they do not break apart.
5. Stir a spoon of cornstarch into a little cold water and pour it in to thicken the sauce to a glossy coat. Top with green onion and, if using, a pinch of ground Sichuan peppercorn. Serve over rice.

Swaps and substitutions #

Ground beef works in place of pork, or leave the meat out entirely for a vegetarian version. The doubanjiang carries the flavor either way.

Doubanjiang brings the base heat. For more, add chili flakes or chili oil. For less, use a smaller amount of paste and skip the extra chili. It is easy to dial in either direction.

The Sichuan peppercorn is what makes it ma la, numbing and spicy at once. If you do not have it or do not like the tingle, the dish is still good without it.

At its most basic this is pork, doubanjiang, water, and tofu, thickened. Everything else is an upgrade. Add a bit more water and cornstarch if you want extra sauce to spoon over the rice, which is never a bad idea.

Tips #

Fry the doubanjiang in oil. Do not just dump it in with the water. Cooking it in the hot oil for a minute is what releases its color and deep flavor.

Be gentle with the tofu. Soft tofu breaks easily. Nudge it around with the back of a spoon instead of stirring and it will stay in neat cubes.

Taste before adding salt. Doubanjiang and soy sauce are both salty, so season at the end if it even needs it.

Restaurant flavor, home-cooking price, twenty minutes. That is the kind of cooking that keeps eating well in SF cheap. Serve it over rice with a side of garlic bok choy and you have a full spread.