Finished dish photo of Quick Mapo Tofu

Quick Mapo Tofu

Mapo Tofu is a popular Sichuan dish with a deep red and bright appearance, complemented by red, white, and green colors. The tofu remains intact without breaking, offering flavors of numbing, spicy, hot, tender, crispy, fragrant, and fresh, highlighting the 'mala' (numbing and spicy) characteristic of Sichuan cuisine. Today, using McCormick Mapo Tofu seasoning, we made a quick version of Mapo Tofu. My husband said it tasted like restaurant-quality.

Time:About 15 minutes
Difficulty:Easy to make

Ingredients

Tofu350g
Lean meat50g
McCormick Mapo Tofu seasoning1 pack
Cooking wineHalf a spoon
Light soy sauceHalf a spoon
McCormick tenderizerHalf a measuring spoon
McCormick black pepper powder1 measuring spoon
Chili powder (optional)1 spoon
Sichuan pepper powder (optional)1 spoon
Cooking oil30g
Water120g
Garlic leaves (for garnish)As desired

Steps

1

Prepare the ingredients

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2

Pour the Mapo Tofu seasoning into a bowl, mix with water, and set aside

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3

Cut the tofu into 2cm cubes, blanch to remove the beany taste, then drain and set aside

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4

Mince the lean meat, marinate with cooking wine, light soy sauce, tenderizer, and black pepper powder. Heat a wok, add 30g of cooking oil, heat until 50% hot, then stir-fry the minced meat until fragrant

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5

Add the Mapo Tofu seasoning mixture and blanched tofu. For a stronger taste, add some chili powder and Sichuan pepper powder

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6

Simmer for 4-5 minutes on low heat, gently stirring the bottom to evenly color the tofu. Then turn up the heat to reduce the sauce

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7

Serve and garnish with garlic leaves (today I used green onions as a substitute). Mix with rice—numbing, spicy, hot, tender, crispy, fragrant, and fresh. A real rice killer!

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Cooking Tips

It's best to use minced beef for the meat, as it's more fragrant and chewy.