eglamkowski's Journal: slashdot cookbook

Although I've done a mapo tofu dish once before (in fact, it was my first ever \. cookbook entry!), here's another one, as every town, possibly every home, has their own variant of it.

1 pound of soft beancurd
6 oz of lean beef
3 spring onions
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed

Seasoning/Sauce
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon fermented black beans, chopped
2 pickled red chillies, chopped
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1-2 teaspoons hot bean paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns (Fagara or Sansho), ground
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon corn flour or corn starch

-Cut the tofu into small cubes and set aside. Very finely mince the beef and finely chop the spring onion.

-Heat the oil in a wok and stir-fry the beef, spring onions and garlic until half cooked.

-Add the ginger, black beans, chillies, soy sauce and hot bean paste and stir-fry together for 1 to 2 minutes. Then add the remaining seasoning/sauce ingredients except the cornflour and bring to a boil.

-Slide in the beancurd and simmer for about 5 minutes over gentle heat. Stir in the cornflour mixed with a little cold water, simmering gently until thickened.