Mapo Dofou
One man's comfort is another man's. . . .
Not sure. Anyway, I am sure that this dish is one of mine--even if the name means something like "pockmarked grandmother's tofu." Doesn't sound very promising, eh? My grandmother steered clear of smallpox. And Baptists. But that's another story.
Anyway, I'm crazed about Mapo Dofou. It's one of those go-to meals around here. Because of the wedding.
Mine, to be exact. Bruce and I were officially married this past weekend. Nothing big: just the two of us, a rabbi, her partner, and some homemade gravlax with cream cheese on rye toast for brunch. You see, I've now been married four times. Three of them to the same person: Bruce. What am I, Elizabeth Taylor? First, a commitment ceremony in Maine in 1999, then a legal civil union in Connecticut in 2007, and now this legal, full-blower marriage. Whew. Bring on the diamonds--and the comfort food.
Like this:
Mix 4 ounce ground pork in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry. (By the way, you could also use ground veal, ground turkey, or even plain textured soy protein--although it'd be a double hit of soy with the tofu to come.) Set aside.
Get your aromatics ready: 8 medium scallions, thinly sliced; 2 to 4 medium garlic cloves, minced; 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger; and 1 tablespoon jarred Chinese hot bean paste.
Two confessions: Bruce also added 2 tablespoons chopped Sichuan preserved vegetable (sold in pouches at the Asian market in Hartford)--and he substituted 3 garlic scapes, roughly chopped for the minced garlic.
Get the wok fired up over high heat for a few minutes, until smoking hot; then add 1 to 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns. Dry-fry them over the heat, stirring constantly, until crazy-aromatic, about 1 minute.
Dump in 1 tablespoon peanut oil, then the ground meat and all its marinade. Toss and stir it over the heat until it loses its raw, pink color, about 2 minutes.
Now dump in all those aromatics. Keep stirring them over the heat until they wilt and become gorgeous, maybe 2 minutes.
Stir in 1 cup reduced-sodium, fat-free chicken or vegetable broth, as well as another tablespoon of both soy sauce and Shaoxing wine or dry sherry. Bring to a full simmer.
Now dump 1 1/2 pounds cubed silken firm tofu into the wok, the cubes about 1-inch squares or so. Nothing exact of course, just spoon-sized. Stir them gently--they'll break apart easily--and let the whole thing come back to a full boil.
Simmer 1 minute. Meanwhile, mix 1 1/2 teaspoons arrowroot with 1 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar in a small bowl. Pour this into the wok, stir gently, and simmer just until thickened, just a few seconds really.
And it's done. Rice has to be ready. Or as in our case, steamed Chinese water spinach. And me, too--ready for true comfort all around. Just the way Elizabeth Taylor would like it. Or perhaps my imagination's a tad askew?
Mark Scarbrough | Posted on Monday, June 29, 2009 at 5:18PM | in Bruce's Asian Obsession, Comfort Food, Main Courses
Reader Comments (5)
I want to congratulate you and Bruce on your wedding! And on the size of the wedding, too (you've weaned yourself off the the overly processed wedding, too ;)
Recipe looks great--looks like I'll be needing a run to Penzey's for some Sichuan peppercorns. My mouth is watering just looking at the pictures.
Congratulations on your wedding!! I love your blog; your writing and the recipes exude comfort and happiness, thank you. May you both live blissfully ever after.
Many thanks, Petra and Miranda. Our wedding was so quiet, so peaceful. We had a blow-out last year--and there was no sense in doing much except quietly.
How wonderful! Congrats to you both. What -- no honeymoon?? ;)
Congratulations on your wedding! May you have four times the blessings! Nice job on the mapo dofu too! It's one of my favorites too, although I use the jarred black bean sauce instead of the hot sauce because I'm a wimp. :)