Ma Po Tofu

Spicy bean-paste and chili tofu dish from the Szechuan province in China. This dish goes great on top of rice.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tbsp cornstarch

• 1 tbsp fermented dried black beans, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes, rinsed, and mashed
• 3 cloves of garlic, mashed
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp of Sambal Oelek
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• 1 tbsp neutral flavored oil (e.g. canola oil)

• 2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with equal part water
• 1 package of soft tofu, drained, and cut into cubes (You can use silken, but it will be a little harder to work with since soft tofu is slightly firmer)
• 1 dash of sesame oil
• 2 tbsp of scallions thinly sliced

Directions:

• In a bowl, mix 1 tbsp cornstarch with Shaoxing wine. Add ground pork to mixture and mix to incorporate and let marinade for 5 minutes
• Heat a large pan over medium heat and add oil.
• Once the oil is hot, add ground pork and cook until brown.
• Once the pork is brown, move the pork to one side of the pan. On the opposite side of the pan, add the garlic, ginger, fermented black beans, scallions, and Sambal Oelek and cook for a few minutes. Stir mixture and pork.
• Stir in soy sauce and sugar to pork.
• Add chicken broth to pork and bring to boil.
• Slowly stir in cornstarch mixture until thickened enough to coat a spoon.
• Mix in sesame oil and add tofu. Carefully stir mixture until tofu is warmed through being careful not to break the tofu.
• Serve immediately topped with scallions.