Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐)

This popular Szechuan (Sichuan) Chinese dish, Mapo Tofu, is my family’s favourite. Actually, I love every dish that cooked with tofu (beancurd). The dish is a combination of tofu, simmered in spicy chili- and bean-based sauce, together with pork mince or beef mince.

That said, it was named for the old woman who invented the dish. As she got a pockmarked face, her popular dish was named as 麻婆豆腐, literally translated as "pockmarked grandmother’s beancurd".




Generally, Szechuan cuisine is very hot indeed. I have to adjust and cook the tofu in mild-hot sauce. The authentic taste of Mapo tufu has to include the powdered Szechuan peppercorns that would give a unique spiciness, as a result of creating a very special effect of numbing and spicy (麻辣).

The amount of powdered Szechuan peppercorns used in this recipe was very mild and suits to the taste of the majority. Yet you might like to roast or dry fry (fry on hot wok without any oil) the Szechuan peppercorns in order to bring up more flavour, and add more of it if you desire a stronger taste.

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