麻婆豆腐

One of my favourite Chinese foods, mapo doufu (tofu in spicy pork sauce), is also a favourite in Japan. Called mabou doufu in Japanese, it tends to be a bit wimpy here, lacking both spice and the rich flavour of Chinese fermented black beans. My recipe is a bit of a compromise, using proper Chinese ingredients easily found in Japan (and most anywhere else, I imagine) but with a bit less heat than the authentic Sichuan version.

These are the ingredients for mabou doufu, minus the pork (click on the picture for explanations). Notice that they've already been measured and prepared and are all ready to go: if you don't normally cook like this, you'll want to make an exception for Chinese food. Getting everything ready before-hand makes a long ingredient list a bit less daunting, but the real reason for doing this is that once you start cooking, you won't have time to open packages, chop ingredients, and measure.

麻婆豆腐 (Mabou doufu)

• 800 gr (25 ounces) momen-doufu (firm tofu), about 2 packs
• 350 gr (12 ounces) ground pork or beef
• 2 Tbsp touchi (fermented black beans)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp shisen toubanjan (Sichuan style chili bean sauce)*
• 1 Tbsp tenmenjan (black bean sauce)
• 1 large knob of fresh ginger, grated (about 2 Tbsp)
• 4 to 5 cloves garlic, crushed (about 2 Tbsp)
• 8 hosonegi (thin green onions), thinly sliced
• 2 to 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 500 ml (2 cups) torigara soup (chinese chicken stock) or beef broth
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce, or to taste
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 1/2 Tbsp katakuriko (potato starch) or cornstarch
• 1 to 2 tsp sanshou pepper or Sichuan pepper

Wrap the tofu in clean dish towels and sandwich between 2 cutting boards. Place in the sink with a pot or other weight set on top, let sit about 30 minutes. Just before cooking, unwrap tofu and cut into 2 cm (1 inch) cubes.

Heat the oil in a wok or large pan and stir-fry the pork and touchi, using a wooden spoon to break any lumps and crush the touchi. When pork is almost cooked, about 3 to 4 minutes, add the toubanjan, tenmenjan, ginger, garlic, and most of the hosonegi (reserve about 4 Tbsp for garnish). Continue to fry for about 3 minutes, then add stock and tofu. Stir carefully (or agitate the pan) to mix without breaking the tofu.

Let simmer 5 to 10 minutes, add soy sauce and salt, taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Mix 1 1/2 Tbsp water with the katakuriko, then slowly pour into the pan, stirring gently or agitating the pan to mix. When thickened, ladle into shallow bowls and garnish with a sprinkling of sanshou and the remaining hosonegi.

Makes 4 large servings.

* Regular toubanjan can be used instead.   

Comments

[Janet]

I seem to remember a ramen dish that had the spicy pork too...

[kim]

thank you so much for this recipe, i can't wait to try it :)

[Kevin]

I really like mapo doufu. My recipe is pretty similar to yours though I have yet to yet able to find fermented black beans. I end up just increasing the amount of black bean sauce. I must redouble my efforts to find fermented black beans.

[David]

Mmmm... Mabodofu. My stepmother's family is from Shanghai and she makes it properly spicy. My wife, who is Japanese told me she could make it too, but it just wasn't the same. Either way, I haven't eaten it in a long time and I really want some. I'll eat donburi for now.

[James]

Found you on flickr. Lovely blog! I can't wait to see what's next!

[Sherry]

Stupid question for you. Where in a typical Japanese grocery story do you find touchi, or am I just blind and missing it?

[J]

I came across your site the other day when I was searching for Japanese recipes. It was quite astonishing to see all these beautifully presented Japanese dishes whipped up by a western girl! Your pictures also look professionally gorgeous but with a warm "homemade" touch, which is rare. :-) Would you mind me asking what camera and lense you used for your pictures?

[Amy]

Janet, perhaps not this exact spicy pork. But spicy pork in general is a wonderful thing.

Hope you like it Kim!

Kevin, it's worth the effort of finding the beans. Use too much bean sauce and you'll end up with a sauce that is too sweet and poorly coloured.

David, have your wife try this recipe (or better yet, try it yourself)!
Actually, I've heard that even in China there is controversy, with Sichuan cooks deeming versions from other parts of China to be inauthentic. I doubt my recipe would pass muster...

Thank you James!

Sherry, many supermarkets have a small section devoted to Chinese ingredients, and that's where you'll find it: in a plastic package, next to the dried shrimp and kikurage. Some places don't carry touhi at all though, so you may have to look around a little. If that fails, is there an upscale or import supermarket near you? In Kanto we have the Kinokuniya, Miuraya, and Kaldi chains, all of which should carry touchi.
Finally, you can order it online from Kaldi: http://store.yahoo.co.jp/kaldi/4903024000260.html
(If you do order from Kaldi, don't miss their 100 yen canned tomatoes!)

Thank you J! I use a Pentax Optio 550, which is getting quite old and breaks down once in a while (and then I use my cell phone's camera). It's just a regular digital camera but somehow it takes excellent pictures.

[Mama BoK]

I'm lazy.. ! i use the premix to make this dish.. but i donch make it often enough.. coz' my brat and her papa wouldn't eat anything spicy.. :(

[Amy]

Mama BoK, it sure is tough when the people you cook for don't sare your tastes.