Un-Mapo Tofu

Growing up, a visit to a Chinese restaurant was not complete without an order of mabo tofu, one of my dad's favorites. Originally from Sichuan, this dish is typically so spicy we would order it with a request to make it "mild." When the dish arrived, my dad would add chili peppers to his portion and work up a good sweat. My kids, including my one year old, can tolerate a small amount of spicy doubanjiang. Adjust it according to your taste.

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Seasoning ingredients:

a knob of grated ginger

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced or crushed

1 tsp spicy doubanjiang

1 tsp additive free chicken stock granules

1 Tbsp sake

1 tsp sugar

1 and 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce

sesame oil for sautéing

100 grams ground meat (pork or chicken works)

1 tray of silken (called kinu in Japanese) tofu, cut into small cubes 

chopped spring onions for garnish

(if needed) a small amount of starch mixture made from water and potato starch or corn starch (this is to thicken the sauce at the end)

Prepare and mix the seasoning ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside. Sauté the ground meat in sesame oil. Pour in the seasoning. Heat through and add water if necessary. Toss in the cubed tofu and work carefully so as not to break it up too much. If there’s too much water in the dish, thicken the sauce with the starch mixture. Remove from heat and top with spring onions. Best served over a bowl of steaming plain rice.