Vegetarian mapo tofu with shiitake, Sichuan style
Written by Estelle & Alice for The Wok House
Silken tofu breaks as soon as you stir it. In this dish, I only ever touch it with the back of the spatula, pushing it from the edge towards the centre of the wok, and the cubes reach the plate whole under a red sauce that burns and numbs at the same time. In place of the pork mince in the original recipe, I brown finely chopped shiitake: they give the sauce body and a deeper flavour.
Mapo tofu (mapo doufu) comes from Chengdu, in Sichuan, where it has been served since the second half of the 19th century. Its name refers to Chen Mapo, 'pockmarked old Mother Chen', who ran a small restaurant in the city with her husband. The dish is known for its ma la, the numbing tingle of Sichuan pepper mixed with the heat of chilli. The quantities below give a medium-hot dish, and the variations tell you how to make it milder or hotter. Two steps make it work: frying the doubanjiang, the chilli bean paste, until the oil turns red, then thickening the sauce in three goes so it coats the tofu without turning gloopy.
Vegetarian mapo tofu with shiitake (mapo doufu)
Silken tofu blanched, then simmered in a doubanjiang sauce with chopped shiitake, homemade chilli oil and toasted Sichuan pepper.
For 3 to 6 people, use a 32cm wok. The tofu spreads out almost in a single layer and can be pushed around without breaking up.
Ingredients
For the tofu
Spices and chilli oil
For the sauce
To finish and serve
Equipment
- 32cm carbon steel wok
- Saucepan for blanching the tofu
- Slotted spoon
- Pestle and mortar, or a spice grinder
- Wok spatula or wooden spatula
- A bowl and a glass
Method
Start the rice
Rinse 300g jasmine rice in cold water, rubbing it between your fingers, until the water is only slightly cloudy. Put it on to cook straight away: with resting time, it needs about 20 minutes, which is how long the mapo tofu takes.
Get everything ready
Once the wok is hot, the dish moves quickly, so prepare everything before you turn on the heat. Remove the shiitake stems and chop the caps with a knife into pieces the size of a grain of rice. Peel and finely chop the ginger and garlic, slice the spring onions and the fresh chilli, and cut the dried chillies into three or four pieces. In a glass, mix 2 tsp cornflour into 4 tbsp cold water.
Blanch the tofu
Cut the tofu into 2cm cubes on a board. Bring a pan of water to a simmer with 1 tsp salt, slide in the cubes and leave them for 2 minutes: their surface firms up. Turn off the heat and leave the tofu in the hot water until it's time to put it in the wok.
Toast the Sichuan pepper
Put the dry wok over a medium-low heat and tip in all the peppercorns at once, 2 tsp plus ¼ tsp Sichuan peppercorns. Stir for 2 minutes: they're ready when they smell strong and a light smoke rises. Tip them into a mortar, grind them to a fine powder and set aside ¼ tsp ground pepper for serving.
Make the chilli oil
Keep the wok over a low heat. Pour in 3 tbsp oil, then add the fresh chilli and the dried chillies. Let them heat for 5 minutes, stirring now and then: the chillies darken, the oil turns orange and smells of toasted chilli. If they blacken, the oil turns bitter. Pour the oil and its chillies into a bowl and set aside.
Brown the shiitake
Turn the heat up to medium-high and pour 2 tbsp oil into the wok. Add the chopped shiitake and spread them over the base. Stir every 30 seconds for 4 minutes: first they release their water, then it evaporates, and they brown and start sizzling again.
Fry the aromatics and the doubanjiang
Turn the heat down to medium. Add the ginger and garlic and stir for 1 minute without letting them brown. Add 2 tbsp doubanjiang and the ground Sichuan pepper, then stir for 1 minute more: the oil turns red and the paste no longer smells raw.
Add the stock and the tofu
Pour in 200ml stock, the chilli oil with its chillies and ½ tsp sugar, then bring to a simmer. Lift the tofu out of its water with the slotted spoon, let it drain for a few seconds and slide it into the sauce. Don't stir: push the cubes with the back of the spatula, from the edge towards the centre, to coat them. Leave to simmer uncovered for 4 minutes, so the tofu takes on the flavour of the sauce.
Thicken in three goes
Stir the glass of cornflour, which settles at the bottom. Pour a third of it in a thin stream into the simmering sauce, gently push the tofu around and wait 20 seconds for the sauce to thicken. Repeat twice more. The sauce is ready when it coats the cubes and the red oil rises to the surface; if it turns gloopy before the glass is empty, keep the rest back.
Finish and serve
Turn off the heat. Add ½ tsp sesame oil and the spring onions, then push the tofu around one last time: the spring onions should barely wilt. Tip into a deep dish, sprinkle with the ground Sichuan pepper you set aside and serve straight away with the rice.
Wok tips
- Make the chilli oil over a low heat. A carbon steel wok heats up quickly, and dried chillies that blacken give a bitter oil: take the wok off the heat as soon as they darken.
- The doubanjiang needs to fry in the oil before the stock goes in. Until the oil turns red, the paste tastes raw and salty. Over a high heat, it catches on the bottom of the wok and burns, so stay at a medium heat and keep stirring.
- On induction, use a flat-bottomed wok and lower the power before making the chilli oil: the hob heats faster than a gas burner, and the wok goes from warm to scorching in under a minute. Spread the shiitake over the base, the part in contact with the hob, so they brown instead of stewing in their own water.
- A few minutes of simmering won't harm a well-seasoned wok. After the meal, rinse it with hot water and no washing-up liquid, dry it over the heat and wipe on a drop of oil with kitchen paper. If the base has lost its dark colour, redo the seasoning before your next stir-fry.
Variations
- Milder or hotter. For 4 people, mild version: 2 dried chillies, no fresh chilli, 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns for the sauce and 1½ tablespoons doubanjiang. Hot version: 8 dried chillies, 2 fresh chillies, 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns, and 1 teaspoon chilli powder added with the doubanjiang.
- Instead of shiitake: 200g chestnut mushrooms, chopped the same way, or 50g dried soya mince (weighed dry), soaked for 10 minutes in hot water then squeezed hard between your hands. Brown them as you would the shiitake.
- Instead of doubanjiang: replace each tablespoon with 1 tablespoon red miso mixed with 1 teaspoon chilli powder. The sauce has less depth and is a little milder, but the dish still works.
- With ready-made chilli oil: skip step 5 and pour in 3 tablespoons of the oil with the stock for 4 people. Take the oil from the top of the jar, without the sediment: it's often salty, and the doubanjiang already is.
Storage
Two days in the fridge in an airtight container. Reheat gently in the wok with 2 tablespoons water, pushing the tofu around rather than stirring it: over a high heat, it falls apart. Don't freeze it, as silken tofu turns spongy when thawed.
Frequently asked questions
Is mapo tofu supposed to be spicy?
Yes, that's what defines it: the Chengdu recipe pairs the heat of chilli and doubanjiang with the numbing effect of Sichuan pepper, the ma la. A mild version strays from the original but works fine: follow the quantities in the mild variation.
How do you stop silken tofu breaking up?
Blanch the cubes for 2 minutes in salted water, which firms up their surface. After that, don't stir: push the tofu with the back of the spatula. Firm tofu holds together better, but it takes up less sauce and loses its soft, custard-like texture.
Where can I buy doubanjiang and Sichuan peppercorns?
In Asian supermarkets, where doubanjiang comes in jars or pouches labelled chilli bean paste, sometimes toban djan. The one from Pixian, near Chengdu, is the benchmark for this dish. Sichuan peppercorns are sold in the same shops or by spice merchants; buy them whole, as once ground they quickly lose their aroma.
Is this mapo tofu vegan and gluten-free?
Vegan, yes, with vegetable stock: the tofu, shiitake and homemade chilli oil contain no animal products. If you use a shop-bought chilli oil, read the label, as some contain beef. Gluten-free, no: traditional doubanjiang is made from broad beans, chilli, salt and wheat flour.
