Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Vegetarian Mapo Tofu

I was thinking about eating something that my roommate has made that I haven't made in awhile or actually never made at all. That dish would be mapu tofu. I remember the first time he made this during the summer, it did not treat my tongue well due to the amount of chemicals drained into the little prepacked "mapu tofu sauce". After that experience, I would not eat mapu tofu again.

I decided to take up a challenge and make a good mapu tofu from scratch and without the aid of pork or beef. I got my inspiration after reading a manga called Super Cooking Boy or something like that. The meat that was made in the manga was actually just tofu that was fried to a crisp or until spongy. I guess time to tell you guys how to make your mouth on fire.

Mapo Tofu (Vegetarian Style)


Ingredients
14 oz Extra firm tofu
1/4 cup chickpeas
1/2 cup water
1 tbs hoison
1 tsp hot oil
2 tbs soy sauce
4 red chili peppers
2 tbs spicy broad bean paste
1/2 tsp Five asian spice powder
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp corn starch
salt

Ah pretty large ingredients list indeed...

Making the imitation meat


1. Mince or food process 7 oz tofu (or half the block)
2. Add about 2 tbs oil in a pan
3. Heat up the oil and throw in minced tofu
4. Put heat on medium high and stir rigorously
5. Use a spatula to constantly scrape the bottom to prevent burning
6. Add in vegetarian hoison sauce and spice power and continue to stir to prevent burning
7. Cook until the pieces become chewy like ground meat.

Making spiciness happen

Prep work
1. Chop chili peppers
2. Mince garlic
3. Cube tofu
4. Measure everything out before starting
5. Mix water with corn starch

Cooking up a heatwave
1. Add about 3 tbs of oil in a pan and red chili oil
2. Throw in chili pepper (more if you want spicier) to fry for 1 minute
3. Toss chickpeas and tofu in the pan
4. Saute for 2-3 minutes on medium high heat, making sure not to burn it by constantly stirring.
5. Add garlic, minced tofu, spicy broad bean paste, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and corn starch water
6. Stir and cook uncovered for 1 minute
7. Cover to cook for 3-5 minutes.
8. Add salt if necessary for taste.

I usually eat this with rice. Apparently the chickpeas were an accidental success. It gives the mapu tofu a distinct savory flavor that is difficult to describe, but it turns out very delicious.

1 comment:

  1. What a creative twist on mapo tofu. I would have never thought to add chickpeas. Looks yummy!

    ReplyDelete