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But seriously, I've been working on getting the taste right and having the right balance of spices (especially the Sichuan peppercorns) and I finally hit it just right last night. And it's so easy to make vegan, it tastes better with mushrooms instead of ground pork anyways.
mapo doufu is how I judge the quality of a Chinese restaurant
having it on the menu at all is a good filter
I don't have exact measurements for anything but the tofu and mushrooms but here is what I used last night!
1 pound soft silken tofu, cubed
1 pound mushrooms, diced up as finely as you can get
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable broth (you can use significantly less but it's winter in Alaska so I like soupy foods this time of year)
1/2-1 inch ginger, minced (mine was a longer piece but it was a relatively thin piece)
sichuan peppercorns (I put probably around 1/4 cup of whole peppercorns in my grinder)
1 spoonful of black bean/garlic paste (something like this would be better but I forgot to buy it)
1 spoonful of chili oil
water+cornstarch mixture to thicken (just add as much as you feel like you need to thicken it)
green onions to garnish
To actually cook it I:
saute garlic, ginger, mushrooms until the mushrooms are looking well cooked
add the ground sichuan peppercorns and toast, 15-20 seconds
add the bean paste and chili oil, mix well
add the broth and bring to a boil
mix in the cornstarch mixture and let it thicken
add the tofu, lower the heat and just let it sit in there a while (i added the tofu about 10 min before my rice finished)
Boom it's not perfect or authentic but it hit the spot and it's really good
It's better in a wok too, if you have a gas stove you take off the burner plate and put it straight on there. Light it with a match, don't burn your house down.
No way, man. Mapo tofu is an inferior product all the way around and it's always a disappointment to see it on the menu and not mala tofu.
Mala tofu or nothing. Fight me.
