SAWCLicious: Mapo Dofu/Tofu

Last weekend, I went to Dusseldorf with Hungry Trotter Couple to simply eat ramen. Yes, I was motivated  to drive 2 hours for a good ramen. (Blog post to come about the food!) Anyway, going back, before I left Dusseldorf, I went to this Japanese Restaurant named Na Ni Wa. I was sitting at the bar and looking at the Japanese Chefs cooking and saw them preparing mapo dofu. It made me drool and crave for it. I was just too full to order more food. So, I decided to take some notes and I tried it out. It turned out to be really really delish!

For those of you who do not know, according to Wikipedia, "Mapo doufu, or mapo tofu, is a popular Chinese dish from the Sichuan (Szechuan) province. It is a combination of tofu (bean curd) set in a spicy chili- and bean-based sauce, typically a thin, oily, and bright red suspension, and often cooked with minced meat, usually pork or beef. Variations exist with other ingredients such as water chestnuts, onions, other vegetables, or Judae's Ear (aka Jelly Ear, a mushroom)."


Mapo Dofu/Tofu!

Ingredients

• 1 medium white onion sliced
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 scoops of minced pork (around 1 cup) 

           Note: You can also use minced beef or a combination of pork and beef.

• 1 pack firm tofu sliced into cubes.
• 1/2 cup of sliced leeks
• 2 tbsp. Peanut Oil
• Sesame Oil
• 1 cup of pork broth (You can use water if you don't have pork broth)
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 3 tbsp. Spicy Bean Paste (Check the link.)

Procedure

1. Heat wok, once wok starts to smoke a bit, put in the peanut oil and minced pork and onions together. 
2. Stir in around 30 seconds, then add in garlic. Then add the spicy bean paste. 
3. Once pork starts to brown a bit, add tofu and leeks. Stir a bit, then add pork broth.
4. Season with around 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp white pepper, and 1/2 tsp sugar.  Let it simmer for 1-2 minutes.
5. Mix the cornstarch with a bit of water and pour into work. Simmer again for a minute and serve.
6. For the finale, garnish with some leeks. 

Best served with hot rice!