Mapo Tofu

After all the festive eating it is time for some simple home cooked dish. Tofu is pretty bland and I always find way to boost up its flavor when I cook them. I learned about Mapo tofu dish only when I came here to the US. Mapo tofu is a famous dish in the Chinese restaurant here. It's a well-known dish from the Sichuan province of China. This dish is actually easy to make at home.

Ingredients:

1 block of soft (not silken) tofu – drained and cut into ¾” cubes
1 chicken breast – finely chopped (ground pork or beef)
2 cloves of garlic – chopped
1” ginger – finely grated
½ cup of chicken broth + ½ tsp of cornstarch
2 tbsp of hot bean paste
2 tsbp of soy sauce
½ tsp Sichuan peppercorn powder
½ tsp sesame oil.
Some thinly sliced green onions (garnish)
1 red chili - cut into small cubes (garnish)
Salt to taste

1. Heat up about 2 tbsp of oil in a wok or frying pan. Stir fry the meat until no longer pink. Add in the garlic and ginger and stir fry until fragrant. It will take about 2 minutes.
2. Lower down the heat and add in the hot bean paste, stir fry for a minute and add in the chicken stock. Add in the soy sauce, tofu and bring it up to simmer. Check seasoning.
3. Turn off the heat and add in the sesame oil and Sichuan peppercorn powder. Stir gently until well mixed.
4. Dish out and garnish with chili and spring onions.

P/s I will be flying back to the US today. See you back there.