Mapo Tofu: A Delicious and Simple Dish
Tofu is a very good thing, many people say that making tofu makes you old, just turn it into tofu skin, making it tender is just for tofu brain, if it's spoiled, just treat it as stinky tofu. Making tofu seems simple, but it actually requires a lot of technology. The changes in weather and the proportion of ingredients are all important.
Tofu was invented to be used for making different delicacies, such as Mapo Tofu, which is a very famous dish in Sichuan cuisine, with characteristics such as spicy, hot, fresh, fragrant, tender and hot. Eating Mapo Tofu is about enjoying its spicy and hot flavors, with a slightly numb texture and the aroma of meat minced in it, which is delicious.
For Mapo Tofu, you will need a block of tofu, a bunch of green onions, 2 cloves of garlic, a suitable amount of minced meat (1/10 of the weight of the tofu), a suitable amount of doubanjiang (fermented broad bean paste), a little soy sauce, a little sugar, a few drops of vinegar, a little amount of Sichuan peppercorns, a little amount of chili oil, and a little amount of rice wine.
Step 1: Here, the ingredients are prepared, the tofu is cut into square blocks, the size depends on your preference. Green onions are chopped into green onion segments, and garlic is chopped into minced garlic.
Step 2: Authentic Mapo Tofu uses beef minced meat, but for home cooking, you can use minced pork, which is equally delicious. Add doubanjiang according to your preference. My suggestion is to add a little more to make a red oil, which is the authentic flavor of Mapo Tofu. (However, remember to chop the doubanjiang into smaller pieces so that large pieces of doubanjiang don't affect the texture. Of course, when you eat it yourself at home, you don't have to worry about it, just add it directly).
Step 3: Now let's boil the tofu. Tofu contains a high water content, and if boiled, some moisture will be lost, making it more chewy and delicious. Water boiled tofu must add some salt, about 2g per block of tofu when cooking.
Step 3: Boil the tofu for about 2-3 minutes (small fire, large fire will break the tofu), when the tofu is slightly swollen but not taken out, let it sit there to prevent the tofu from sticking together when taken out.
Step 4: Now let's prepare for stir-frying. Take another pot and put in a little oil. When the oil is hot, first stir-fry the minced meat. Pay attention to the oil temperature, don't let it be too high, stir-fry slowly until the minced meat turns slightly yellow and becomes a little drier, then add doubanjiang and stir-fry to make a red oil.
Step 5: After the red oil is out, add minced garlic to release its fragrance, then add water or soup, about a small bowl of soup for a block of tofu, bring it to a boil, add a little rice wine or floral wine, a little bit of soy sauce.
Step 6: Add a little sugar, wait for it to boil, taste the flavor, after adjusting the flavor, add the boiled tofu, directly put it into the soup, stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes until the soup becomes less, then add Sichuan peppercorn powder (you can also put the tofu in a bowl and then sprinkle with Sichuan peppercorn powder).
Remember to use cornstarch slurry to make a thin glaze before pouring in chili oil and a few drops of vinegar, then it's finished stir-frying. Sprinkle with fragrant green onion segments, the fragrance instantly spread out. You can smell it and drool, the minced meat is dotted between the tofu, the red and white colors contrast each other, and the green segments are scattered, looking delicious, eating it fragrant. Friends who like to eat tofu shouldn't miss this method, it's very home-style, easy to make, delicious and inexpensive, and nutritious.
