Summary

Recipe Story

MaPo Dofu is one of our favourite dishes. I decided last night to make mapo dofu and came up with this new version using some favourite Chinese and Korean ingredients. Szchewan pepprcorns give the dish a unique flavour. We have alwas found Szechwan peppercorns even when finely ground to be gritty. I recently bought a bottle of Prickley Ash oil - also known as Bungely Oil which is another name for Szechwan Peppercorns. Szchewan peppercorns are an ingredient in Chinese five-spice powder and also the Japanese shichimi togarashi. Despite the name, Scezwan peppercorns are not related to black pepper or to chile/chilli peppers. It is widely used in the cuisine of Sichuan/Szechwan, China, from which it takes its name, as well as Tibetan, Bhutanese, Nepalese, Japanese and Konkani cuisines, among others. In Konkani it is known as tepal or tirphal. In America, it is sold as fagara or flower pepper as well as Szechwan pepper. Szechwan pepper has a unique aroma and flavour that is not hot or pungent like black or white pepper, or chile peppers, but has a slight lemony overtone, and creates in the mouth a kind of tingly numbness (caused by its 3% of hydroxy-alpha-sanshool) that sets the stage for these hot spices. The dried fruits of Sichuan pepper and its relatives have an aromatic odour that, for most species, can be described as lemon-like, with more or less pronounced warm and woodsy overtones. To read more of this unique peppercorn: http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Zant_pip.html

Ingredients

How to make MaPo Tofu

In a bowl, combine pork, soy sauce, gingly oil and hot chile bean paste.

Dice bean curd into 1/3” sized pieces.

Heat wok over high heat until drop of water sizzles, add the peanut oil, ginger, garlic, stir fry for about 30 seconds until it becomes pungent, add the pork mixture, stir fry for about a minute, sprinkle with white pepper, add the chicken stock and cook for about five minutes.

Put in the tofu pieces, and gently stir them in, being careful not to break them up. Cook for about another two to three minutes, then add the scallions and the sesame oil, stir until a little thickened, and serve, adding more sesame oil if desired.

Garnish with more onions and or cilantro serve with Thai steamed rice