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Mapo Tofu, Final Translation

Chen Mapo's Tofu is a renowned Sichuanese dish created by the wife of cook Chen Senfu, known for its numbing, spicy, and tender qualities. The dish is made using a traditional cooking technique called 'Du', which infuses the tofu with flavor while keeping it intact. The recipe includes ingredients such as gypsum-coagulated tofu, minced beef, and various spices, and involves a specific cooking process to achieve the desired taste and texture.

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53 views2 pages

Mapo Tofu, Final Translation

Chen Mapo's Tofu is a renowned Sichuanese dish created by the wife of cook Chen Senfu, known for its numbing, spicy, and tender qualities. The dish is made using a traditional cooking technique called 'Du', which infuses the tofu with flavor while keeping it intact. The recipe includes ingredients such as gypsum-coagulated tofu, minced beef, and various spices, and involves a specific cooking process to achieve the desired taste and texture.

Uploaded by

scholasticatechservice
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Famous Snacks

131: Chen Mapo’s Tofu


Among the many ways of cooking tofu, Sichuanese Mapo tofu is known na7onwide. The dish was
created by the wife of Chengdu cook Chen Senfu (named so due to the pock-marks on her face). Chen
Mapo restaurant s7ll exists on the West Yulong Street in Chengdu city. Xue Xiangshun as a genera7onal
disciple is in charge of the kitchen.

Mapo tofu should be numbing, spicy, hot, “intact”, soH, and tender. Especially when served fresh, it
imparts a strong sense of warmth and mala – the dish can make you sweat even in a cold winter day.
Chen Mapo’s Tofu is par7cularly soH, which is made in-house by grinding up soybeans and congealing
with gypsum.

Mapo tofu is made neither by frying nor steaming, but rather using the tradi7onal Sichuan rus7c cooking
technique of Du ①. This keeps the tofu intact while infusing it with the taste of the sauce, together with
the crisp, flavorful beef.

Part 1: Ingredients

Gypsum-coagulated Tofu, 3 liang (150g) Beef, 1.5 liang (75g)


Chili powder, 1 qian (5g) Sichuan pepper powder, 3 fen (1.5g)
Vegetable oil, 1 liang (50g) Sichuan Douchi, 2.5 qian (12.5g)
Koumo Soy Sauce, 6 fen (3g) Salt, 2 fen (1g)
MSG, 1 fen (0.5g) Thick stock ②, 3 liang (150g)
Starch slurry, 6 fen (3g) Scallion (or Green Garlic) sec7ons, 3 qian (15g)

Part 2: Process

1. Cut the tofu with a bamboo knife (don’t use an iron knife, lest the tofu be stained with the taste
of iron). Cut into about 6 fen (2cm) cubes, and soak the tofu in a bowl of boiling hot water for a
minute to get rid of grassiness of the gypsum, then drain. Take the beef (pork can be subs7tuted)
and remove any membrane, then finely mince.

2. Pour oil into a wok with the heat on low. Once it begins to smoke, add in the minced meat. S7r
to prevent s7cking. Once the meat reaches the darker side of golden brown, add in salt and s7r a
couple 7mes to mix. Then, add in the douchi. Crush the douchi into the beef so that it flavors the
beef – you should no longer see any visible douchi. Then add in chili flakes, s7rring un7l it starts
to smell “spicy” (be careful to not burn). Then add in the stock together with tofu. “Du” (or stew)
for three minutes (four to five minutes in winter), then add in scallion or green garlic. Now the
tofu is cooked and hot but the color and flavor is not there yet. Add in the koumo soy sauce and
MSG to deepen the color and flavor, then add in the slurry and gently mix a couple 7mes to
thicken. Serve in a bowl and sprinkle over the Sichuan pepper powder.

① Du is a word the from Sichuan dialect. This cooking technique uses low heat and li^le liquid to
slowly braise the ingredients. The con7nuous large bubbles in the stewing process sounds like “gu-du gu-
du”. When the water is expelled from the tofu and the flavor is infused then it’s ready. It’s a similar idea
when cooking other ingredients.

② A thick stock made with pork leg (tro^er) and oxtail.

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