Mapo Tofu, Wok Star Style

Mapo Tofu, literally translated means “pock marked grandma’s tofu”, don’t ask me why! I guess there’s a slight resemblance to pock marks? The beauty of this dish is you can adapt it to however you like it, spicy or not at all, with tri-colored bell peppers or with ground pork or just plain.  And that is what being a Wok Star is all about.

What a great one dish dinner, so easy and fast for weeknights! Tofu is a great protein substitute for vegetarians and vegans. If you’re lucky to have any leftovers, take it for lunch and just reheat with some quinoa and have with a side salad!
I’m working on a video and will post up soon!

 

A friend made a really good point about “recipes” I never even thought about…you end up with all the condiments you don’t know what to do with afterwards. So, with that in mind, I’ve applied my easy, NO-recipe, NO-measuring technique to this Mapo Tofu dish and used seasonings that already come in your Wok Star Kit.

Typically these are seasonings for the Mapo Tofu sauce if you want to try…

• Black fermented soy beans
• broad bean paste
• Chili oil
• numbing szechwan peppercorns

After experimenting with Mapo Tofu 3 times, it’s best to use firm tofu and not the silken. Nasoya was the only brand I found in my local markets. I actually prefer the ones at the Asian market but they are not NON-GMO or organic.

You always have OPTIONS…
– add more sauce if you love to eat with rice, noodles, on its own or with other dishes
– add more spice with chili oil, chili peppers, chili flakes or chili sauce
– add meat, typically ground pork but other options are ground beef, turkey, chicken or lamb 

Make it totally vegetarian/vegan and ‘stretch’ the dish
Add tri-colored bell peppers for a pop of color.
Hate chopping?  Single and don’t want to buy 3 bell peppers?

Get a box of ready chopped tri colored bell peppers available at your local market. I saw at both Publix and Winn Dixie in Miami area.

SAUCE:
TSPC which as you know are…
Tamari (San-j brand), Sherry, Pepper (white), Cornstarch
2 tsp. Koon chun brown bean sauce
Shake of chili flakes (any brand)
Dash of sesame oil (instead of chili oil)

INGREDIENTS:
1 box firm tofu, choose NON GMO/Organic
2 scallions chopped for garnish
handful cilantro, chopped for garnish
2 cloves garlic chopped
thumb size ginger, chopped

I recently made this as a vegetarian dish with tri-colored bell peppers garnished with alfafa sprouts at Fullei Fresh’s Grand Opening and not one morsel was left. John, an attendee mentioned it was his first time ever eating tofu and he was surprised how delicious it was! 




 


Photos were taken by Wok Star Mary at the Grand Opening, thanks so much for taking these great shots!

METHOD:
1. Make sauce in a bowl
2. Cut tofu into cubes
3. Fry garlic and ginger in oil, add sauce, add tofu, add more chili flakes for color
4. Sprinkle scallions and cilantro, done!