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Spicy Pork and Tofu with Sichuan Pepper
Sichuan peppercorns give this simple dish a tongue-tingling quality, while the Chinese chili-bean sauce called toban djan provides spiciness and umami. To bring out the flavor and aroma of the peppercorns, toast them in a small skillet over medium until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Cool, then finely grind in an electric spice grinder. If you can’t find chili-bean paste, chili-garlic sauce is a decent substitute. And if you’re sensitive to spiciness, reduce the chili-bean sauce to 2 tablespoons or so. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
4
Servings
30 minutes
Ingredients
-
8
ounces ground pork
-
3
tablespoons chili-bean sauce (toban djan) OR chili-garlic sauce
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September 29, 2022
Speedy Mapo Tofu
This is pretty much a simplified version of Mapu Tofu. It's very flavorful and comes together quickly. What takes the longest is letting it simmer. I do think adding an additional cup of water is too much, so I just add another 1/2 cup and that seems to work just as well. I also add a bit of dark soy sauce to it and it really boosts the flavor. I'm sure a tablespoon of oyster sauce would also work. This has become a staple in our house and I have started to double the recipe every time I make it.
While this recipe resulted in good food, it was missing something "Milk Street" in flavor. It needed a boost. Also, the 1 1/2 cups of water had me simmering this for about 10 minutes (on medium/high to high) before the liquid evaporated resulting in the sizzle - seems to be more water than necessary. Resulted in tofu breaking down a bit. Pre-frying the tofu might have held the it together better and given that part of the meal more flavor. Good, but not great.
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I made this last night. It was sensational!