Mapo Tofu

Ingredients

• 1 block Extra-firm tofu, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 2 tbsp Canola oil
• 1 ½ tbsp Doubanjiang (fermented chili bean paste), chopped
• 4 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp Fresh ginger, minced
• 1 ½ cups Shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, toasted and ground
• 1 cup Low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp Low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 ½ tbsp Cornstarch
• 4 Scallions (green onions), sliced thin
• 1 tsp Toasted sesame oil
• 1 ½ cups Jasmine rice (dry)

Method

1. Start the rice. Slide the tofu cubes into a pot of barely simmering salted water and turn the heat off — this seasons them and firms them just enough to survive the stir. Leave them there while you build the sauce.
2. Toast the Sichuan peppercorns in a dry pan for 45 seconds until fragrant, then grind them. Pre-ground is not the same thing and this is the flavor people mean when they say a dish tastes Sichuan.
3. Heat the oil in a wok over medium. Add the chopped doubanjiang and fry it for a full minute — the oil should turn red and smell sweet. That minute is the dish.
4. Add garlic, ginger and mushrooms. Stir-fry 3 minutes until the mushrooms give up their water and start to brown.
5. Pour in the broth, soy sauce and Shaoxing. Drain the tofu and slide it in. Simmer 4 minutes, pushing the tofu gently with the back of a spoon rather than stirring, or it breaks.
6. Whisk the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons cold water and add it in two additions, simmering between, until the sauce coats a spoon and clings to the tofu.
7. Off the heat, add the ground peppercorn, the sesame oil and most of the scallions. Taste — it should be salty enough that no extra salt is wanted. Serve over rice with the rest of the scallions on top.

Notes

✨ The restaurant touch

The numbness is supposed to arrive after the heat, not with it. Adding the ground peppercorn off the heat at the very end is what makes that happen.

🧒 For the kids

Halve the doubanjiang and leave the peppercorn out of the children's portion — spoon their tofu and sauce off before the peppercorn goes in at the end.

🥡 Leftovers

Keeps 3 days. The tofu firms up in the fridge; add a splash of water when reheating.

Per serving

Computed from USDA FoodData Central values. A planning tool, not medical advice.