Authenic Mapo Tofu

This is one of my favorite and most often-made recipes. I love Szechuan cuisine and I worked diligently to develop a recipe that was the real deal. The combination of fiery pepper, complex flavors from the bean paste and fermented black beans, along with a sweet, oily, gutsy sauce make it incredibly satisfying – So much so that your carnivore friends will never realize they’re dining on a vegan recipe. (Why tell them?)

Serve this over white or brown rice. It’s a perfect vehicle. Or, if you want to go really healthy, serve it over roasted veggies like broccoli, zucchini, carrots, and cabbage; veggies that will let the classic Szechuan tastes shine through. Do this, and you’ll have a low carb, high protein, vegan food item – Really threading that dietary needle!

Note: Feel free to add minced garlic. I just don’t happen to like the smell or the taste of it. Minced ginger? Its flavor tends to get lost in production.

I like to toast the Szechuan peppercorns in a dry skillet, grind them to a powder, and keep it in a plastic bag in the fridge. That way, you don’t need to repeat this process each time you prepare this recipe. I’ve included links to Amazon throughout the recipe for the hard-to-get items. Buy them once and you’ll be making this Szechuan classic over and over.

6-8 servings:

2 12-oz. blocks of extra firm silken tofu

2 cups water

¼ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup fermented black beans

3 Tbs doubanjiang (broad bean paste)

3 Tbs sugar

2 Tbs soy sauce

2 Tbs toasted sesame oil

1 ½ Tbs corn starch

1 Tbs finely ground red pepper

1 Tbs ground, toasted szechuan peppercorns

3-4 green onions, chopped, including green part

Dissolve the corn starch in 2 cups of water, add the soy sauce and set aside. Heat oil in large saucepan and add the broad bean paste and fermented black beans. Stir until heated through, add red pepper, heat through, and then the corn starch-water mixture. Add the Szechuan peppercorns, sesame oil, sugar, and heat until thickened. Add the tofu. Use a potato masher to mash the tofu into desired size. Add green onions and serve.