Chinese · Sichuan · main

Mapo Tofu (Mapo Doufu)

Name: Mapo Tofu (Mapo Doufu)
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 16 min
Cuisine: Chinese · Sichuan
Ingredients: tofu — 500 g; salt — 5 g; peanut oil — 54 g; beef — 120 g; sichuan chilli bean paste — 37 g; fermented black beans — 15 g; dried sichuanese chillies — 10 g; chicken stock — 300 g; soy sauce — 5 g; potato starch — 15 g; cold water — 59 g; stems chinese green garlic — 12 g; sichuan pepper — 5 g

Mapo Tofu (Mapo Doufu) reads umami 8.2, salinity 6.1 and richness 5.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Chinese · Sichuan main, about 16 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 9.2 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 1.2 / 10
Sour & Bright — 1.5 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.6 / 10
Rich & Fat — 6.4 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 2.4 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 8.2 · Salinity 6.1 · Richness 5.6 · Funk & Ferment 4.0 · Nutty 2.9 · Heat 2.1 · Earthy 1.4 · Citrus 1.2 · Herbaceous 1.2 · Bitterness 1.1 · Sweetness 1.1 · Warm Spice 1.0 · Floral 0.9 · Allium 0.8 · Sourness 0.7

What's in it (13)

tofu — 500 g
salt — 5 g
peanut oil — 54 g
beef — 120 g
sichuan chilli bean paste — 37 g
fermented black beans — 15 g
dried sichuanese chillies — 10 g
chicken stock — 300 g
soy sauce — 5 g
potato starch — 15 g
cold water — 59 g
stems chinese green garlic — 12 g
sichuan pepper — 5 g

Time & effort: about 16 min (15 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 63.8 kcal, 7.8 g protein, 2.7 g fat, 2.1 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

Bring a pan of water to a bare simmer, add the salt and slide in the tofu. Hold it there 2 to 3 minutes without letting it boil. This seasons the tofu, drives off the chalky raw-soy taste and firms it enough to survive the wok. Leave it in the hot water until you need it.
Heat the oil in a wok over high heat and add the beef. Stir-fry 3 to 4 minutes, pressing it against the metal, until the grains are separate, dry and crisp at the edges. The Sichuanese want the meat su, brittle, not merely browned.
Turn the heat to medium. Add the chilli bean paste and stir 40 seconds until the oil runs deep red, then the black beans and ground chillies for 20 seconds more.
Pour in the stock and soy sauce, bring to a simmer, then slide in the drained tofu. Nudge it with the back of the ladle rather than stirring, since a spatula will break it, and simmer 3 to 4 minutes so it drinks up the sauce.
Add the slaked starch in three separate additions, waiting for the sauce to return to a boil after each. Three additions rather than one is the classic instruction, and it gives a sauce that clings and glosses instead of turning gluey.
Fold in the green garlic and cook 30 seconds. Slide into a deep bowl and dust the ground roasted Sichuan pepper over the top at the table, so it is still numbing and citrus-scented when it reaches the eater. Serve with a great deal of plain rice.
Substitutions: beef stock can stand in for the chicken stock; 4 spring onions can stand in for the stems Chinese green garlic.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Cacio e Pepe — Italian
Cotoletta alla Petroniana — Italian · Emilia-Romagna
Cacio e Pepe with Crispy Prosciutto — Italian
Frittata di Maccheroni — Italian · Naples
Baked Mac and Cheese with Crispy Breadcrumb Top — American

Keep reading: what umami, salinity, richness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.