Mapo Tofu

What is it about food that brings together family and friends? The older I get the more I realize just how much relationships and food go hand-in-hand. Currently, my social gatherings are more centered around food than ever before. I honestly cannot think of an occasion with friends and family that food has not played a pivotal role in our gathering!

From my best friends and I bonding over brunch, my uncle teaching me to filet a fish and even something as simple as my family having me over to share a Sunday meal, the ties between friends, food and family is strong.

Because of this connection, I was extra thrilled receive a request from Author Kian Lam Kho to partake in the Mid-Autumn Festival Blog Feast, an online celebration in honour of China’s Mid-Autumn Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of China’s most recognized celebrations. Falling this year on September 15th, the Mid-Autumn Festival is an occasion for the people to gather and give thanks for the harvest and celebrate it’s bounty together. Another gathering centered around food!

As part of this celebration, I was asked to choose a recipe from Kian Lam Kho’s Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees that I would replicate and serve to family as part of this Mid-Autumn Festival blog feast. What a task that was! The recipes in Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees are beautiful, inspiring and tantalizing. After narrowing down to a few recipes from well known General Tso’s Chicken to delicious sounding Red Cooked Pork, I settled on the recipe for Mapo Tofu. (Want to win a copy? Scroll down to see how!)

Mapo Tofu was a dish that was new to me, but I was drawn to it for a curious reason. You see, my husband and I have a pair of close friends that recently embarked on a journey of a lifetime. They packed-up and, together, headed-on to a new life in China. The pair are settling in Chengdu, specifically. When deciding on the dishes, I noticed that Mapo Tofu is a regional dish of the Sichuan Province, which Chengdu is the capital of. This was the perfect way to involve our friends, although thousands of miles away, in our Mid-Autumn Festival Feast!

Mapo Tofu is a spicy dish that, luckily for me, is perfect for those on a budget! Featuring tofu and only a quarter pound of ground beef, this dish packs a frugal, flavourful and protein packed punch. Say that five times fast.

My barrier to entry for this dish, however, was the specialty Chinese ingredients. Feeling a bit defeated after not being able to source some of the spices and bean paste at my normal local grocer, I nearly called it quits. Yep. I nearly gave-up on this dish. Thankfully, I didn’t!

I owe the success to the dish all to my wonderfully selfless brother-in-law. He was not only confident that I could find the ingredients, but he drove me to a Chinese grocery store on the other side of town and helped me navigate the aisles of unfamiliar ingredients. How fitting that family saved my little Mid-Autumn Festival celebration!

The result? A spicy, deep and distinct dish that is sure to be in the regular rotation from now on. I mean, look at the deep colouring of the red chile bean paste oil sauce!

Beyond great recipes, Kho gives a great overview of how to start an authentic Chinese pantry and which tools you will need to truly replicate an authentic Chinese dish. Now that I have invested in some pantry staples and invested in a good wok (following Kho’s advice, of course), I am eager to cook my way through Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees and expand my knowledge about Chinese cuisine. Only one recipe in, I already feel confident in producing high-quality and authentic Chinese dishes. And guess what? That could be you, too! Just pick this baby up and you (and your friends and family) will be pleased you did!

Please note that I received a copy of Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees for no charge from Clarkson Potter Publishers in exchange for a review. These thoughts and opinions are my own and genuine.

Want to win a copy of Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees and start exploring the food and technique of authentic Chinese cuisine? Simply comment down below before October 2, 2016, mentioning your favourite Chinese dish or cooking method and be entered in to a draw! Winner will be selected, at random, on October 3, 2016 and contacted via e-mail. This draw is only open to Canadian residents.

Mapo Tofu
Copied, with permission from Kian Lam Kho and Clarkson Potter from Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees

Ingredients:

1 pound firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon canola oil*
4 ounces (1/4 pound) ground beef

Chile bean paste oil:

1/4 cup canola oil*
1 tablespoon minced scallion whites
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon Chinese red chile powder
1/2 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn powder
2 tablespoons Sichuan chile bean paste
1 tablespoon fermented black beans, coarsely chopped

Sauce:

3/4 cup chicken stock, or water
2 tablespoons Shaoxing cooking wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons tapioca starch
2 Chinese leeks, cut crosswise on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices

Method:

Put the tofu in a medium saucepan and add 5 cups water and the salt. Bring the water to a boil and then cook gently over medium heat for 5 minutes, until the tofu is soft. Turn the heat off and let the tofu sit in the water.
Heat a wok over high heat until a droplet of water sizzles and evaporates immediately upon contact. Swirl the oil around the bottom and sides of the wok to coat it evenly. Add the ground beef to the wok and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until the beef has browned slightly. Remove the beef from the wok and transfer it to a bowl.
To make the chile bean paste oil, heat the oil in the wok over medium heat until it is just starting to simmer, about 350F. Add the scallion whites and ginger to the wok and stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Add the chile powder and Sichuan peppercorn powder and stir-fry for about 30 seconds or until the oil has turned red. Add the chile bean paste and fermented black beans and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.
Drain the tofu and add it to the wok. Return the cooked ground beef to the wok. Stir in all the sauce ingredients. Cover the wok and simmer over medium heat for about 3 minutes, until the tofu has absorbed the flavours.
In a small bowl, ix the tapioca starch with 2 tablespoons water to make a slurry. Stir it into the broth and cook until the broth has thickened, for about 1 minute. Add the leek slices and simmer for 30 seconds, until they just turn bright green.

*please note the original recipe calls for vegetable oil but I substituted for canola

Serves 2 or more, paired with a vegetable dish.