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Vegan Mapo Tofu

East Asian · 30 min · Medium · 4 servings

Vegan Mapo Tofu

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Numbing, savory and fast. Mushrooms stand in for the pork and nobody misses it. The chili bean paste and Sichuan pepper are doing the real work.

~460 cal per serving — Calories are approximate, per serving — a guide only.

nut-freehigh-protein
Plan it:

Method

  1. 1

    Warm the tofu

    ⏱ 5 min

    Bring a pan of salted water to a gentle simmer, slide in the tofu cubes and let them sit off the boil while you cook everything else. This seasons them and stops them breaking up later.

  2. 2

    Brown the mushrooms

    ⏱ 7 min

    Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the mushrooms and fry, undisturbed at first, until they've given up their water and started to brown and crisp at the edges.

  3. 3

    Fry the paste

    ⏱ 1 min

    Turn the heat to medium. Add the chili bean paste, garlic and ginger and fry until the oil turns deep red and smells fragrant, about a minute. Keep it moving so the paste doesn't catch.

  4. 4

    Simmer

    ⏱ 4 min

    Pour in the stock and soy sauce and bring to a simmer. Drain the tofu and slide it in. Nudge (don't stir) the pan to coat the cubes without smashing them. Simmer gently.

  5. 5

    Thicken and finish

    ⏱ 1 min

    Stir the cornflour slurry and pour it in a little at a time, swirling the pan, until the sauce coats a spoon. Off the heat, add the sesame oil, ground Sichuan pepper and scallions. Serve over rice.

Notes

Nudge the pan rather than stirring once the tofu is in: a spatula will shred it. Grind the Sichuan pepper fresh; the pre-ground stuff has no buzz left.

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