Servings: 4
Vegan Mapo Tofu (素食麻婆豆腐)
Get ready for some serious spice! This vegan mapo tofu recipe is quite spicy. If you are not used to cooking with Sichuan peppercorns, start with 1 teaspoon of the peppercorns. Increase the amount of peppercorns if you want more spice. Another way to limit the spice is to leave the peppercorns whole instead of grinding them up. Serve the tofu with jasmine rice and my Chinese garlic cucumber salad for a complete meal. Roughly adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop.
Ingredients
Tofu
- 1 pound silken or soft tofu, (see note 1)
- 8 cups water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
Slurry
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch, (see note 2)
- 1/2 cup water
Sauce
- 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons doubanjiang, depending on desired salt level (see note 3)
- 1 tablespoon black bean garlic sauce
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorn, ground (use less or more depending on desired spice level, see note 4)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons gochugaru, (see note 5)
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 stalk of scallions, thinly sliced, dark green pieces separated from light green and white pieces
- 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
Instructions
Prepare the Tofu
- If you are using tofu that comes in a plastic container, drain the block of tofu and remove it from the package. Cut the tofu into 3/4-inch cubes.
- Add 8 cups of water and salt to a saucepan and bring it to boil. Remove the saucepan from heat.
- Using a skimmer or slotted spoon, carefully lower the tofu cubes into the hot water. Let the tofu sit in hot water as you prepare the sauce (see note 6).
Prepare the Slurry
- Add the cornstarch and 1/2 cup water to a small bowl and stir to combine. Set it aside.
Prepare the Sauce
- Heat the canola oil in a wok over medium-low to low heat. You don’t want high heat to cook the sauce because the sauces and spices can burn. Add the doubanjiang to the wok and stir to combine with the oil. Heat the sauce for about 1 minute, until you can smell the aroma. If you are noticing that the doubanjiang is darkening really quickly, reduce the heat.
- Next, add the black bean garlic sauce, garlic, and ginger. Stir for about 1 minute, until you can smell the garlic. Add the ground Sichuan peppercorn, gochugaru, and sugar. Stir to combine.
- Give the cornstarch slurry a quick stir to break up the starch that has settled to the bottom of the bowl. Pour the slurry into the wok and mix with the rest of the sauce. Increase the heat slightly and let the sauce simmer for 2 minutes, until it bubbles and starts to thicken. Add the white and light green parts of the scallion and toss with the sauce.
- Use a skimmer or slotted spoon to carefully transfer the tofu from the hot water to the wok. Make sure to drain as much water as possible.
- Carefully use a wok spatula (or any wide spatula) to fold the tofu into the sauce. Transfer the tofu and sauce to a serving bowl.
- Drizzle the sesame oil over the tofu. Garnish the bowl with the dark green parts of the scallion. Serve with jasmine rice.
Notes
- Some silken tofu comes in 14-ounce packages, which also works for this recipe.
- You can also use tapioca or potato starch.
- If doubanjiang is difficult for you to obtain, use a different chili sauce and add another 1/2 tablespoon of the black bean garlic sauce. Be careful when using other chili sauces because they can be a lot spicier than doubanjiang. You can use leftover doubanjiang for other stir fries.
- You can find red Sichuan peppercorns in Chinese supermarkets or online. 2 teaspoons of Sichuan peppercorns will give you an adequate amount of spice without feeling as if your mouth was on fire. I don’t like using over 1 tablespoons of peppercorns, but feel free to add more to suit your taste. If you are apprehensive about too much spice, you can leave the peppercorns whole.
- I prefer using gochugaru because it gives the sauce a nice red color and it has some level of spice. You can use Chinese chili flakes or even red pepper flakes that you can find in supermarkets. Warning: if you are using red pepper flakes that are pretty spicy, I recommend only using 3/4 teaspoon of it.
- If you know it is going to be a while before you actually make the sauce for the tofu, remove tofu from hot water after 5 to 8 minutes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 230kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 11.5g | Fat: 18.3g | Saturated Fat: 3.6g | Sodium: 887mg | Fiber: 1.5g | Sugar: 3g
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