🌶️ Ma la xiang guo

Name: Ma la xiang guo
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: China · Sichuan and Chongqing
Ingredients: 200 g pork belly or shoulder, thinly sliced; 200 g firm tofu, cubed; 300 g mixed vegetables (lotus root, potato, cabbage, mushrooms); 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns; 8 dried red chillies; 3 garlic cloves and a thumb of ginger, sliced; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 2 spring onions, chopped

Origin: China · Sichuan and Chongqing

770kcal

per serving · 350 g

220kcal

per 100 g

42 gProtein12 g / 100 g

49 gFat14 g / 100 g

28 gCarbs8 g / 100 g

Ma la xiang guo, the 'numbing-spicy fragrant pot', is a dry stir-fry of mixed vegetables, sliced pork and tofu tossed in a wok with Sichuan peppercorns, dried chillies and soy sauce. Unlike hot pot there is no broth: everything is fried until glossy and aromatic. The flavour is hot and tingling at once, and it is usually eaten with plain rice.

Diets

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

✓

Low-carb8 g carbs per 100 g

Not vegetarianbecause of: pork

Not veganbecause of: pork

Contains porkbecause of: pork

Contains glutenbecause of: soy sauce

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Soy

What it is made of

vegetablesporktofusichuan pepperchili peppersoy sauce

Recipe

2 servings35 min

Ingredients

200 g pork belly or shoulder, thinly sliced
200 g firm tofu, cubed
300 g mixed vegetables (lotus root, potato, cabbage, mushrooms)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
8 dried red chillies
3 garlic cloves and a thumb of ginger, sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 spring onions, chopped

Method

Blanch the harder vegetables such as lotus root and potato for 2–3 minutes and drain well.
Pan-fry the tofu in 1 tbsp oil until golden, then set aside.
Fry the pork in the remaining oil until it renders and browns.
Add the Sichuan peppercorns, chillies, garlic and ginger and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add the vegetables and tofu, toss on high heat for 3–4 minutes, season with soy sauce and finish with spring onion.

How to make it lighter

Use lean pork shoulder instead of belly and add more tofu and vegetables for a lighter wok.
Measure the oil: 1 tbsp oil ≈ 120 kcal, and restaurant versions often use much more.
Fill half the bowl with leafy greens and mushrooms to keep the portion large but lower in calories.

History

Ma la xiang guo grew out of the ma la flavour tradition of Sichuan and Chongqing and is often described as a dry, home-style cousin of hot pot. In recent decades it has spread through Chinese cities and abroad, where many restaurants let diners choose their own ingredients for the wok.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →