Ma Po Tofu 麻婆豆腐

Ma Po Tofu 麻婆豆腐

Style: Sichuan(Szechuan) Cuisine

Characteristics: Ma po tofu is a dish mixed with yellowish-white tofu and reddish brown chili sauce. People often use seven words to describe this dish which are numbing, spicy, hot, fresh, tender, delicious and crispy.

The most well-known dish among the spicy and hot dishes of Sichuan Cuisine, ma po tofu (stir-fried tofu in hot sauce）is made of soft tofu, ground beef, chopped chili, prickly ash powder and broad bean paste. It is rich in vegetable protein, calcium, phosphorous, iron, vitamins and carbohydrates, featuring an outstanding effect in strengthening the middle burner and replenishing qi (essential energy), removing the poisonous quality of any substance, nourishing the marrow as well as replenishing the essence.

Ingredients:

beef, 100 g soft tofu (bean curd cake), 250 g

Preparation:Clean the beef and the bean curd with water. Then cut the beef into mince and cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes and put them onto a separate plate. Seasonings:

salt，white sugar，broad bean paste，cooking wine ，starch (corn or potato starch) soy sauce，prickly ash seeds powder，chopped green onion，chopped garlic Note: the amount of the seasonings listed above can be appropriately measured according to one's personal taste. Meanwhile, please get ready the wet starch for the thickening later.

Methods:

Step 1: Fill half wok water, turn on the heat and pour in the tofu cubes when the water is boiling. Boil the bean curd for 1 minute and then pick them out of the wok, and remove excess water through a colander

Step 2: Pour away the water in the wok, and place the wok over high heat until hot. Add some cooking oil, swirling to coat sides. Add in the chopped ginger to be stir-fried by high heat for about 10 seconds, add in the broad bean paste and stir-fry them together until smelling fragrant, about 20 seconds.

Step 3: Pour in the ground beef and stir-fried it for about 1 minute on high heat, add in the cooing wine and the soy sauce and stir-fry them together for a furthur 1 minute until the ground beef is 90% percent cooked.

Step 4: Pour in the tofu cubes, add in the salt and white sugar and stir-fried them for about 2 minutes on high heat until all of the tofu cubes are covered with the seasoning sauce

Step 5: Add in the previously prepared wet starch flour and stir well for 20 seconds until you feel it is a little bit sticky. This process is mainly to thicken the flavored sauce to stay with the bean curd and the beef.

Step 6: Now, turn off the heat, add in the chopped green onion and the prickly ash powder. Stir them with cooking ladle until they are mixed with the other ingredients in the wok. Then ladle the delicious Ma Po Tofu out of the wok and put it into a fine porcelain plate