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AI-generated photograph: Soft white cubes of tofu in a glossy brick red sauce in a deep black bowl beside a neat dome of white rice, green spring onion and dark crushed peppercorns on top

Home · Recipes · Mild mapo tofu with mushrooms

East and South East Asian · Dinner

Mild mapo tofu with mushrooms

soft tofu · red chilli bean sauce · tingling sichuan pepper

AI-generated photograph

A gentler take on the Sichuan classic: soft cubes of tofu in a glossy red sauce of chilli bean paste, garlic and ginger, with finely chopped mushrooms in place of the usual pork, spooned over rice.

Contains: soya and cereals containing gluten, as written. Soya (tofu, chilli bean paste and soy sauce) and gluten (soy sauce, and the wheat flour in most chilli bean pastes). Check the stock cube, which can contain celery.

Ingredients

  • 300g jasmine rice
  • 600g firm tofu (2 packs of about 300g), cut into 2cm cubes
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 250g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 20g ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chilli bean paste (doubanjiang, a salty paste of fermented broad beans and chilli, in the world foods aisle); use 2 for more heat
  • Half a teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns (optional: they make your lips tingle)
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon caster sugar
  • 300ml hot vegetable stock
  • 1 tablespoon cornflour, mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
  • 3 spring onions, thinly sliced

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Let's cook

  1. Cook the rice. Rinse it in a sieve until the water runs almost clear, then put it in a pan with 450ml cold water. Bring to the boil, cover, turn the heat to its lowest and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes.
  2. Bring a pan of water to the boil with a good pinch of salt. Turn it down to a gentle simmer, slide in the tofu and cook for 3 minutes. This firms the outside so the cubes hold together in the sauce. Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  3. If using the Sichuan peppercorns, toast them in a dry frying pan for 1 minute until they smell fragrant, then crush them finely with a rolling pin or in a pestle and mortar.
  4. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan on a high heat. Add the mushrooms and fry for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until their water has cooked off and they are brown and a little crisp.
  5. Turn the heat to medium. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli bean paste and fry for 1 minute, stirring, until the oil turns red and it smells rich.
  6. Pour in the stock, soy sauce and sugar and bring to a simmer. Gently slide in the tofu and push it under the sauce with the back of a spoon rather than stirring, so it does not break. Simmer for 5 minutes.
  7. Stir the cornflour mix again, then pour it in a little at a time, gently shaking the pan, until the sauce turns glossy and coats the tofu. It thickens in about 1 minute.
  8. Spoon the rice into bowls and the mapo tofu over the top. Finish with the spring onions and a pinch of the ground Sichuan pepper.

Tips

  • Chopping the mushrooms finely, almost like mince, gives the sauce the same rich texture as the meat version.
  • Chilli bean pastes vary a lot in heat and salt. Taste the sauce before adding the soy sauce.
  • Cool leftover rice quickly and keep it in the fridge for 1 day at most. Reheat the rice and tofu until steaming hot.

Swaps

  • Traditional: use 250g pork mince instead of the mushrooms and fry it until browned and cooked through.
  • Silken tofu: for a softer, more traditional texture use firm silken tofu and handle it very gently.
  • Milder for children: leave out the Sichuan pepper and use half a tablespoon of chilli bean paste.

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