🌶️ Mapo tofu

Name: Mapo tofu
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 3
Cuisine: China · Sichuan · Chengdu
Ingredients: 400 g soft or silken tofu, cut into 2 cm cubes; 120 g ground pork; 2 tbsp chili bean paste (doubanjiang); 1 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tsp ground Sichuan pepper; 2 garlic cloves and 1 tsp ginger, chopped; 1½ tbsp vegetable oil; 200 ml water; 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water; 3 scallions, sliced

Origin: China · Sichuan · Chengdu

390kcal

per serving · 300 g

130kcal

per 100 g

27 gProtein9 g / 100 g

24 gFat8 g / 100 g

12 gCarbs4 g / 100 g

Mapo tofu is soft tofu braised in a fiery red sauce of chili bean paste, ground pork and soy sauce, finished with ground Sichuan pepper and scallions. The tofu stays silky while the sauce is oily, spicy and gently numbing from the Sichuan pepper — the classic 'ma la' flavour. It is spooned over steamed rice.

Diets

✓

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

✓

Keto-friendly4 g carbs per 100 g

Not vegetarianbecause of: ground pork

Not veganbecause of: ground pork

Contains porkbecause of: ground pork

Contains glutenbecause of: chili bean paste, soy sauce

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Soy

What it is made of

tofuground porkchili bean pastesoy saucesichuan pepperscallions

Recipe

3 servings25 min

Ingredients

400 g soft or silken tofu, cut into 2 cm cubes
120 g ground pork
2 tbsp chili bean paste (doubanjiang)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp ground Sichuan pepper
2 garlic cloves and 1 tsp ginger, chopped
1½ tbsp vegetable oil
200 ml water
1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water
3 scallions, sliced

Method

Blanch the tofu cubes in lightly salted simmering water for 2 minutes and drain.
Fry the pork in the oil until crisp, then add the chili bean paste, garlic and ginger and fry until the oil turns red.
Add the water and soy sauce, slide in the tofu and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
Stir in the cornstarch mixture in two goes until the sauce coats the tofu.
Sprinkle with Sichuan pepper and scallions and serve with rice.

How to make it lighter

Use less oil: 1 tbsp oil ≈ 120 kcal, and much of the gloss comes from the bean paste anyway.
Swap half the pork for extra tofu or mushrooms to cut fat while keeping protein.
Watch the rice: a 150 g portion of cooked rice is plenty alongside a full bowl of mapo tofu.

History

The dish is usually credited to a restaurant in Chengdu in the late 19th century, and the name is commonly explained as 'pockmarked old woman's tofu', after the cook said to have created it. It became one of the best-known Sichuan dishes and is now cooked across China and worldwide.

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Similar dishes

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 →