This budget-friendly Chinese-inspired dish oozes with flavour and shows off just how silky tofu can be.
INGREDIENTS
120g Vegie Delights Mince
1 block Bean Supreme Tofu (chopped into 1 cm pieces)
1 tsp soy sauce
½ tsp ginger (minced)
½ tsp garlic (minced)
1 tsp oil
2 tsp Sichuan pepper corns
4 tsp spicy fermented bean paste (Doubanjiang)
½ tsp Chinese 5-Spice
1 cup vegetable stock
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chilli oil
½ cup spring onions (chopped)
Crispy shallots
Cornstarch
Cooked rice to serve.
METHOD
Marinate the tofu
In a bowl, add the Bean Supreme tofu and the marinade ingredients.
Mix well and set aside.
Mapo Tofu
Heat the oil in a medium pan. Fry the Sichuan pepper corns. Once they are just golden, take them out and dry them on a paper towel. Then blitz them up in adry blender or a mortar and pestle. Set aside.
Heat oil in a hot pan. Fry the bean paste and the Vegie Delights mince for a minute.
Add half a cup of spring onions and toss for 30 seconds.
Add the marinated tofu to the pan gently. Do not break it up. Add chilli oil, 5 spice powder and sugar. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.
Then simmer immediately for between 10-12 minutes. Mix 1 tsp of corn starch in ½ cup of water. Add a little ofit to the sauce and mix until it thickens. Check that it is a silken thick sauce. Add more corn starch of necessary. Once ready, remove from the heat.
Transfer the MapoTofu into a bowl. Garnish the Mapo Tofu with the Sichuan pepper corns, crispy shallots and spring onions. Serve with rice.
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latest issue:
126
We start by sharing what’s on the dish team’s radar, what we’re watching, listening to and reading. Harry Butterfield puts a twist on his Nonna’s agnolotti, Malissa Fedele reminds us of the importance of fibre, and Phoebe Holden fulfils a long-held dream, sitting down with Yotam Ottolenghi. Autumn is an abundant time, we make the most with pumpkin, kūmara, cabbage, cauliflower, feijoas, apples and pears. We’re dishing up dinners for two, including a Chicken Dumpling Lasagne, alongside easy weeknight meals. We honour our mums, revisit timeless classics, and add a little baking challenge. This issue, we encourage you to slow down, to enjoy writing your shopping list, and spending time in the kitchen. Because even when life feels relentless, there’s always space to share something delicious.