Sichuan Style Ma Po Tofu Recipe 四川名菜麻婆豆腐

Hello! Welcome back to another episode of Uncle Bill's Kitchen. Here at Uncle Bill's Kitchen, we really enjoy eating Asian food. Especially Spicy Chinese Food! One of my all time favorites is a well known dish from Sichuan called Mapo Tofu (四川名菜麻婆豆腐). Easy to make and very satisfying, this recipe is sure to be one of your all time favorites. 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. Oil porters crossing the bridge would use their stock to save money and ask the Chen restaurant to make them something nice.

Chen Mapo, as she came to be known, had her own unique way of cooking tofu, famous for its pleasant look, smell and taste. Chengdu Records, published in 1909, shows the restaurant's name was eventually changed to Chen Mapo Tofu Restaurant and listed as one of the 23 most famous restaurants in Chengdu in the late Qing Dynasty. Its flavor, price and suitability with rice meant mapo tofu became a Chinese food staple, spreading nationwide.

The best philosophy for mapo tofu is: The simpler, the better. Even though the ingredients are cheap, mapo tofu is seen as a test of any aspiring chef's skills.

Courtesy of The World of Chinese, www.theworldofchinese.com

Ingredients:
1/4 lb. Ground Pork
1 Tbsp. Dried Asian Chili Flakes
1/2 tsp. Sichuan Pepper
2 Tbsp. minced Garlic
2 Tbsp. Minced Ginger
1/2 C. Chopped Green Onion
2 Tbsp. Hot Bean Sauce
4 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
40 oz. Soft Tofu (20 if you like it meaty)
4 Tbsp. Mi Gio (Cooking wine)
1 C. Water Corn Starch Slurry
2 Tbsp. cooking oil

See Video for instructions.

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