The Best Vegan Mapo Tofu Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What kind of tofu is best for mapo tofu? ›

Use tofu labeled "silken" in a hardness range of medium to firm. Don't try this with the super-soft stuff or it'll fall apart!

Shiitake mushroom has a “meat-like” texture, making it the perfect meat alternative for Mapo Tofu.

Mapo Tofu is traditionally a Chinese dish, but Koreans love it so much that they created their own twist to it! Korean Mapo Tofu is generally spicier than its Chinese counterpart. This recipe is great if you need to come up with dinner in a rush.

Mapo tofu is a popular Chinese dish from Sichuan province known for its fiery bright red sauce. The classic recipe is made with simmered silken tofu flavored with ground pork or beef, fermented bean paste (douban and douchi), chili oil, and Sichuan peppercorns.

Doubanjiang substitutes

If you can't get hold of doubanjiang, Thai chilli sauce sambal oelek has a similar spicy flavour, and you could also try gochujang or toban djan mixed with red chilli flakes to increase the spiciness.

Tofu is categorized by texture, or consistency. The texture is determined by the water content in the tofu. The more water, the softer or 'silkier' the tofu; with less water, the tofu is firmer. Tofu is categorized as silken, regular, firm, extra-firm and super-firm.

You can find the pivotal fermented chile and broad (fava) bean sauce or paste called doubanjiang (sometimes rendered as “toban djan”) at a Chinese market. Look for a doubanjiang from Pixian, in Sichuan, and bear in mind that oilier versions have extra heat but may lack an earthy depth.

Any redness and bright color in a mapo tofu sauce comes from chili sauce, so if you want to make a redder mapo tofu, you're going to need to use a redder chili sauce. Our recipe uses Guilin Style Chili Sauce and isn't too glaringly red, so you may want to play around with chili sauces to get more color.

Mapo tofu has strong flavors, so the best thing to serve it with is white rice, which is also how it is traditionally served. You can also serve it with brown rice, red rice, and even quinoa. When choosing something to serve with mapo tofu, choose a dish that is bland to balance out the strong flavors.

The origin of mapo tofu can be traced to 1862 during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and to a couple surnamed Chen, who ran Chen Xingsheng Restaurant, a small eatery near Wanfu Bridge in north Chengdu. Unpleasantly, the mapo comes from the pock-marked face of Mrs Chen - ma meaning pock, po meaning elderly woman.

What is another name for mapo tofu? ›

Mapo tofu is sometimes translated as “pockmarked old woman's bean curd.” (In Chinese, “ma” refers to pockmarks, and “po” can refer to an older woman.)

Finally, give your cornstarch slurry a final mix before adding to the wok. Stir until the sauce has thickened to about the consistency of a gravy. If the Mapo Tofu sauce is too watery, add more cornstarch slurry. If the Mapo Tofu sauce is too thick, thin the sauce out with more chicken stock.

Doubanjiang. Doubanjiang (豆瓣酱), also known as spicy fermented bean paste or broad bean sauce, is the most important ingredient in mapo tofu. And it has a strong fermented savory, salty and spicy taste. Try to find “Pixian Broad Bean Paste” at your Asian market.

Best: Ma-Po Tofu

Made from soybeans, tofu is packed with protein: Half a cup has 11 grams. It's also high in iron and calcium. In this dish, it's cooked in a bean-based sauce that gets its spicy flavor from chili instead of sodium. Bonus: Chili peppers have vitamins, including A and C.

It's the Sichuan peppercorn in dishes like spicy ma po tofu that makes your mouth buzz. Researchers wanted to know if that buzz is connected to the tingling you feel when your foot falls asleep. The Sichuan peppercorn is known to give some Chinese dishes a pleasant tingling feeling.

White in colour and tender to touch, soft tofu (yun dou fu) contains the highest water content of all tofu types and is widely used in Cantonese and other southern Chinese cuisines. It's similar to Japanese silken tofu, but while very soft it has a bit more “body” to it, making it slightly easier to handle and cut.

In general, I find that firm and extra-firm tofu are the most useful because they're versatile. They hit the tofu texture sweet spot—soft enough to absorb flavor but hardy enough to be cooked without risk of falling apart.

Firm and extra-firm tofu are dense and solid and hold up well in stir-frys, soups or on the grill. Soft tofu is good for soups and making dips or spreads, where a smoother texture is desirable and the recipe calls for blending, mashing or puréeing.

Silken tofu also called soft, silk, or Japanese-style tofu has a softer consistency than regular tofu and will fall apart if not handled carefully. You may notice that silken tofu (soft tofu), unlike regular tofu, is sometimes packaged in aseptic boxes that do not require refrigeration.