Vegan Mapo Tofu

Name: Vegan Mapo Tofu
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Cuisine: chinese
Ingredients: 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms; 2 cups water; 15 ounce block of soft tofu (do not use silken); Salt; 3 tablespoons vegetable oil; 3 small dried hot red peppers; 1 tablespoon fermented black beans, rinsed; 1 tablespoon fermented spicy broad bean paste (doubanjiang); 2 teaspoons minced garlic; 1 tablespoon grated ginger; 2 teaspoons soy sauce; 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil; 1 teaspoon finely ground Sichuan pepper; 1 tablespoon corn- or potato starch, dissolved in 3 tablespoons cold water; 1/2 cup slivered scallions, both white and green parts; Cilantro sprigs, for garnish

By David Tanis

Total Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 5(3,426)
Comments: Read comments

Mapo tofu is a justly popular menu item in many Chinese restaurants. It is a quickly cooked dish of braised tofu with minced pork (sometimes beef) in a bracing spicy sauce made with fermented black beans and fermented broad bean paste, along with hot red pepper and Sichuan pepper. This meatless version with fresh shiitake mushrooms is completely satisfying, and surprisingly easy to make. For the best texture, use soft tofu rather than firm, taking care to cook it gently to keep it from crumbling.

Featured in: Mapo Tofu Goes Vegetarian

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

8ounces shiitake mushrooms
2cups water
15ounce block of soft tofu (do not use silken)
Salt
3tablespoons vegetable oil
3small dried hot red peppers
1tablespoon fermented black beans, rinsed
1tablespoon fermented spicy broad bean paste (doubanjiang)
2teaspoons minced garlic
1tablespoon grated ginger
2teaspoons soy sauce
1teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1teaspoon finely ground Sichuan pepper
1tablespoon corn- or potato starch, dissolved in 3 tablespoons cold water
½cup slivered scallions, both white and green parts
Cilantro sprigs, for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Remove stems from mushrooms. Make a light mushroom broth by simmering stems in 2 cups water for 15 minutes, then strain and reserve broth (discard stems). Dice mushroom caps and set aside.
Step 2
Cut tofu into 1-inch cubes. Cover with boiling salted water, let steep for 15 minutes, then drain.
Step 3
Put oil in a wok or wide skillet over medium heat. Add red peppers, black beans and bean paste and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add garlic and ginger and let sizzle, then add mushrooms, soy sauce, sesame oil and Sichuan pepper. Add 1½ cups mushroom broth and cook mixture gently for 2 minutes.
Step 4
Carefully add tofu cubes. Shake pan to distribute sauce, using a wooden spoon to help. Try to avoid smashing tofu. Drizzle in cornstarch mixture, gently swirling pan to incorporate (sauce will thicken) and simmer tofu in sauce for 2 minutes more. Thin with a little mushroom broth if necessary. Transfer to a low bowl or platter. Sprinkle with scallions and cilantro sprigs.

Ratings

5 out of 5

3,426 user ratings

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Comments

JD7 years ago

Things to simplify what some found difficult or puzzling:

1. It is not necessary to steep tofu.

2. Canned mushroom/vegetable/beef broth work fine as a substitute for broth from mushroom stems.

3. For fermented black beans and broad bean paste, substitute the readily available Black Bean Sauce with Garlic (e.g., Kikkoman's), using 2 tablespoons.

4. Cayenne pepper substitutes for ground Sichuan peppers, using 1/4 teaspoon or less, to taste.

Result: authentic-tasting mapo tofu.

J Boyce7 years ago

Cayenne peppers are totally unrelated to Szechuan peppers, have a completely different chemistry and effect in food and do not "substitute" for Szechuan peppers to yield anything even approaching "authentic-tasting" Mapo dofu. It could be a tasty dish, but not even close to authentic (especially if one also substitutes Japanese black bean sauce with garlic for the totally different combo of fermented black beans and chile bean paste).

Michele7 years ago

No. Absolutely do not substitute cayenne pepper for Sichuan peppercorn. Sichuan peppercorns are not peppercorns or even related to peppers! They are the husk of a seed. and the soft tofu definitely benefits from the incredibly easy step of steeping in salted water - why would you skip it? Sichuan peppercorns are surprisingly widely available and absolutely integral to this dish. If you can't find them, wait to make this until you do.

AND in CDMX2 months ago

I've had real mapo tofu (with meat), and this lacked the punchy, spicy flavor of that. -I used Szechuan peppercorns I freshly ground in a mortar and pestle (and mine are reasonably fresh), and I even doubled the amount after tasting it towards the end -Perhaps the random, somewhat old dried hot red peppers I used weren't hot enough (or, I dunno, maybe I should have crumbled one of them so the heat better-distributes into the sauce)?

Beth5 months ago

Um, delicious. Made exactly as described except subbed red miso for the broad bean paste because avoiding wheat, and adding 3 whole fresh red hot peppers (small ones) that I shook some of the seeds out of. YUM

Amy5 months ago

This was SO GOOD. My kid said it’s one of the tastiest things I’ve ever made. I could not find doubanjiang in a well-stocked Asian grocery: labeling confusion language barrier. I never found anything named that or a variation of it or “spicy broad bean paste.” I got a “hot soybean paste” that seemed fine. I also bought what I thought were fermented black beans but they were in a chili oil so couldn’t really be rinsed but worked fine. The mushrooms were a great addition. I used twice as much tofu and still had plenty of sauce. Next time I’d use a little more Szechuan pepper.

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