If there is one thing Chinese people can do, outside of inventing amazing recipes, it’s insulting you right to your face. A routine family Facetime call can devolve into “you got fat!” and “are you still single?” in the first 30 seconds.
– jeffrey
What happened to, “Hello?” “How are you?”
We’re always told that this is just the Chinese brand of honesty. “Would you rather I lie and tell you that you are perfect?” Honestly, that sounds kind of nice.
My whole life, I never knew the meaning of “ma po tofu.” Seeing the Chinese characters for the first time recently, I assumed it meant “spicy grandma’s tofu” because the “ma” (麻) is the same character used in “ma la” (the numbingly spicy flavor). But apparently, 麻 also means “pockmarked” and that is the actual origin of the dish’s name… “pockmarked old lady’s tofu.” So instead of using a name was informative/accurate/kind, Chinese people went out of their way to drag this grandma globally and for all of eternity? Sounds very Chinese to me.
Preparation time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 15 minutes | Total cook time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 block of soft tofu
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2 green onions
- 1 tablespoon of minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon spicy bean sauce (dou ban jiang)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon sichuan peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon dried sichuan chili peppers
- 1 teaspoon gochugaru
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
In a large wok, sauté the sichuan peppercorns and the dried sichuan chili peppers in the vegetable oil. After one minute, strain out the peppercorns and dried peppers, leaving just the spicy oil. Add the minced garlic, ginger, and thinly sliced white parts of the green onions. Add diced white onion and cook until slightly softened. Finally, add the gochugaru, dou ban jiang, ground beef, and salt. Stir so that all the ingredients are distributed and cooked evenly.
When the beef is done, add the chicken stock. Once the stock begins to simmer, add the soft tofu that’s been cut into cubes. Let simmer for five minutes, stirring gently. Finally, add the corn starch slurry (1 tablespoon corn starch and 2 tablespoons water). Continue simmering for 2 additional minutes or until the sauce thickens. Add the thinly sliced green parts of the onions at the end for garnish.