Friday, May 16, 2008

Mapo Tofu


This fabulous (but spicy) recipe is from Gaga in the kitchen.
My husband and I both loved this and it was a snap to throw together. I made a few changes from the original recipe, but the flavor is intense and wonderful! And good news, my husband is officially a tofu fan!

Ingredients:
- 1 block of soft tofu cut into cubes
- 1 pound of ground turkey
- 2 cloves of minced garlic
- 2 tbsp of chili paste(original recipe calls for hot bean paste)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- cornstarch slurry (~1-2 tsp cornstarch mixed in a tiny bit of cold water until dissolved)*I did not need this*
- 1 c. shelled edamame
- 1 tsp ground szechuan peppercorns (optional)
- 1 scallion sliced for garnish (optional)


Directions:
- Heat up your wok/pan and put enough oil in to coat the bottom
- Put the ground meat and the minced garlic and the soy sauce and cook until most of the pink in the meat is gone.
- Add in the tofu, chili paste and peppercorns. Stir gently to avoid breaking the tofu. Taste and adjust accordingly. Sometimes I'll add a bit more chili, salt, or even some sugar, depending on how it tastes.
- The tofu should release some water. If it's pretty dry, feel free to add a bit of water or chicken stock. Then add the cornstarch slurry to thicken the liquid. If it doesn't thicken up immediately, don't worry, it will thicken more after you turn off the heat. Or you can always add more cornstarch slurry. This step is actually completely optional, you'll just get a more watery sauce.
- Add the scallion
- Eat over rice!

3 comments:

Stefany said...

My hubby loves tofu and I am always looking for new things to do with it. This looks yummy!

Sherri said...

This recipe is amazing!! Speaking as the person who got to eat it for dinner and left overs, all i have to say is wow! Honestly I'm a meat and potatoes kinda guy so the word tofu was kinda foreign to me, but I must say I am no longer a skeptic.

Sherri said...

Oops I posted as sherri, but its really Joe. The husband.