My friend Jenny Gao is talented photographer, world traveller and smart woman. But truly, we met and became friends because she's an avid eater. When she was visiting Toronto last month from China, we hung out, cooked, and made the most of her short time here by working together. This is our first collaboration and I'm so happy with it: our vegetarian re-make of the famous Sichuan dish, Mapo Tofu.
Mapo tofu is all about two things: texture and spice. This is a Sichuan dish, which means it's gloriously spicy. The flavours are bold--fierce, even, and in contrast, the silky cubes of tofu are graceful and delicate. They will hold their shape in a fire-red pool of sauce if you're careful with them. And then there's the fried ground meat, usually pork, in the traditional recipes. In our recipe, king mushrooms are shredded and seasoned, and after marinading, as much liquid as possible is squeezed from them. They hold up to frying and are a perfect substitute for the pork!
(Both pretty photos above shot and styled by Jenny Gao)
Jenny said she could eat this spicy tofu every day, and I feel just as strongly about it. I like it punishing-ly strong (you can play around with how many chilies you use) but really, it's a comforting dish overall that must be served over a bowl of fresh, hot white rice. Be prepared to sweat and go back for more.
Check out Jenny's blog for her post and photos of our mapo tofu!
Vegetarian Mapo Tofu
*Use Sichuan chilies, dried or fresh, if you can find them. Otherwise, use any whole spicy, dried red chilies. To make the dish much milder, you could omit the chilies altogether, use 5 if you enjoy spicy food, or up to 10 for a positively fiery dish.
150 g (2 large) king mushrooms, torn into small pieces then chopped roughly into smaller pieces
1 tsp kosher salt, divided
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp Chinese red vinegar
1 tsp all purpose flour
1/4 c peanut, vegetable or canola oil, plus 1/4 c
1.5 lb (700 g) regular tofu, drained and cut into 3/4" cubes
3 tbs chili paste
1 tbs soy bean paste
5-10 dried red chilies*
1 tablespoon fermented black beans
2 tsp peeled and minced garlic
2 tsp peeled and minced ginger
1 cup water
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
3 tbs cornstarch mixed into 1/3 c water
1 bunch scallions, dark green tops only, finely sliced
1 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns
Add mushrooms and 3/4 tsp salt to a small bowl and mix well with your hands, pressing the salt into the mushrooms well. Add soy sauce and red vinegar and mix to combine. Let marinade for 5 minutes, then squeeze out as much liquid by pressing mushrooms firmly against a fine mesh strainer or through two pieces of cheese cloth. Add flour to a medium bowl, add mushrooms to the flour and coat them thoroughly and evenly in flour; dust with a little more flour if needed.
Heat a wok or a large, wide-bottomed heavy pan over high heat, add 1/4 c oil and when hot, add the mushrooms carefully. Try to separate the pieces so they don't clump together. Once they are golden brown remove using a slotted spoon and transfer to a kitchen paper lined plate. Wipe out any flour and oil from the wok and heat over high again.
Add the remaining 1/4 c of oil to the wok and once heated, add the chili paste, soy bean paste, chilies, black beans, garlic and ginger and stir-fry for about a minute.
Add the water, sugar, and soy sauce and stir well to mix.
Slide the tofu in and gently swirl the wok to bathe all of the pieces in the sauce without breaking the cubes, or use a spoon to carefully mix and cover them in sauce. Lower heat slightly and simmer for 3 minutes.
Mix the cornstarch well and then add pour evenly into the wok. Add the remaining 1/4 tsp of salt evenly. Again, swirl the wok to incorporate the cornstarch or use a spoon and mix carefully. Simmer for about 3 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
Add mushrooms back to wok, swirl or stir carefully to incorporate.
Sprinkle the scallions over top and remove from heat.
Pour onto a platter or transfer the tofu and sauce to a platter carefully. Top with ground Sichuan pepper and serve immediately over white rice.
Serves 4.
