Mapo Tofu Scramble

Published July 25, 2024

Mapo Tofu Scramble
Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Greg Lofts.
Total Time
25 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Rating
5(242)
Comments
Read comments

The bold, savory, spicy flavors of mapo tofu are paired with the creamy richness of scrambled eggs in this hearty and comforting anytime-of-day meal. The dish comes together quickly and all in one skillet: Ginger, scallions and spiced pork are first sizzled and simmered, making way for eggs that are soft-scrambled then folded into the tofu mixture. Round out this superfast meal with a sprinkling of freshly sliced scallions or chopped herbs and some buttered toast. 

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 3tablespoons canola or olive oil 
  • ½pound ground pork or beef
  • ½teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns or freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • 1(1-inch) piece ginger, finely chopped or grated
  • 3scallions, sliced thinly, whites and light green parts separated from dark green
  • 2tablespoons black bean garlic sauce
  • 1tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1tablespoon granulated sugar 
  • 1pound silken tofu, drained, cut into ¾-inch pieces
  • 5eggs, beaten and seasoned with salt
  • Buttered toast, for serving (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

463 calories; 32 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 16 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 29 grams protein; 414 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a 10- or 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high. When hot, add the pork and use a wooden spoon to mash it up into pieces as small as possible. Cook, stirring frequently, until browned all over, about 3 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low.

  2. Step 2

    Stir in the peppercorns, red pepper, ginger, white and light green parts of the scallion, black bean sauce, tomato paste, soy sauce, sugar and ¼ cup water. Stir very well to break down tomato paste and black bean sauce, then gently stir in the tofu. Turn off heat, transfer the tofu mixture to a bowl and wipe the skillet clean.

  3. Step 3

    In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. When hot, add the eggs and cook, pushing and folding with a spatula until cooked just a little less than you’d like them done. Turn off heat and push the scrambled eggs to one side of the pan to make room for the tofu mixture.

  4. Step 4

    While eggs and the skillet are still warm, return the tofu mixture to the skillet and gently fold into the scrambled eggs, combining the two, doing your best to keep the tofu from breaking up too much. Transfer to serving plates or a platter, sprinkle with the sliced dark green parts of scallion and serve with the buttered toast on the side, if desired.

Ratings

5 out of 5
242 user ratings
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Comments

In Chinese cuisine, tofu is not defined so narrowly as a meat substitute as it is in the West, but instead as a standard & versatile protein. So, many popular tofu dishes, like Mapo Tofu, are not vegetarian, but it's easy to make this one veg by way of swaps or the omission of pork altogether. The spicy black bean garlic sauce is probably referring to a popular chinese condiment made of fermented black soy beans. That said, douban Jiang (broad bean sauce) is more traditional in Mapo Tofu.

Food processed mushrooms works instead of pork. Also added spicy bean sauce and Chinese salted black beans. Delish!

i was hoping for vegetarian, too. usually when i see crumbled pork in a recipe i'm able to substitute Beyond italian sausages reasonably successfully.

This was very good! I did add some chili crisp oil when frying the eggs but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Rich flavour and I could not believe how much I ended up eating! Will definitely make again :)

If I make this again, I'll add more Szechuan peppercorns. It wasn't spicy enough, lacked that mouth-tingle feel.

I can't even put my fork down long enough to say how delicious this is. I've made it as written, but I can tell you the tomato paste is not essential. And if you want to bump up both the protein quantity and the total volume, double the pork. I also highly recommend swapping the scrambled eggs for eggs fried in chili crisp until just set. AND I recommend using firm tofu as silken tends to fall apart and meld into the eggs, which to me didn't create enough texture contrast.

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