hello hi everyone! Wesley here. Today we’re getting back into our series dedicated to foods from the wonderful restaurant scene here in the Bay Area with a shot at a really interesting mapo tofu found at Spices 3, in Oakland, CA. More specifically today, we’re going to be taking a shot at at their stinky mapo tofu, which is (as the name implies) a pretty typical Sichuan mapo tofu (or spicy ground pork and tofu stir fry), with the added twist that the tofu included is not your more typical soft tofu, but a Chinese fermented “chou doufu,” or more colloquially, “stinky tofu.”
For those unfamiliar, chou doufu is is a Hong Kong street food classic featuring firm tofu that has been aged in a fermented bean curd, which gives it a uniquely pungent and “stinky” quality. More typically in Chinese cuisine, you might see this deep fried and served as a small plate with a light sauce on the side. For our version today however, we’ll be skipping that deep fry, and instead dropping our chou doufu straight into our wok fry for an interestingly complex quality to our tofu that you generally would not otherwise come across in a more standard mapo tofu. Finally to round this all out, it seemed appropriate to take a shot at our own chili oil today as well (since we are paying homage to Spices 3), so, we’ll be taking a look at how that stuff is made (and more importantly), if it’s worth the effort, since you can absolutely just buy that stuff in a jar. Hope you try it.
Serves 2-3
INGREDIENTS
4 clove garlic
1 inch (about 1 tbsp) ginger
3 green onions
2 tbsp corn starch + water
2 tbsp Sichuan peppercorn
peanut oil
INGREDIENTS (chou doufu)
1 block tofu (soft or firm)
4-5 pieces fermented bean curd
4 cups water
2 tbsp Chinese rice wine (baijiu)
2 tbsp rice vinegar
INGREDIENTS (chile oil)
6-8 Thai chiles
4-6 Tian Jin peppers
1/4 cup peanut oil
*optional* can be subbed with 2 tbsp of lao gan ma chile oil
INGREDIENTS (sauce)
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp doubanjiang
INGREDIENTS (marinade)
8oz ground pork
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1/2 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp white pepper
PREP
CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside
FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside
SLICE the Thai chiles, set aside
SEPARATE the whites and greens of the green onions, then slice thinly on a bias, set aside
COMBINE the corn starch and water until a slurry forms, set aside
LARGE DICE the tofu, set aside
BREAK apart the fermented bean curd until a paste forms, then combine with all chou doufu ingredients, seal, and let marinate for at least 12 hours, up to 48 hours
COMBINE all sauce ingredients, set aside
COMBINE all marinade ingredients, then let marinate for 30 minutes
ON THE STOVE
HEAT a wok over medium low heat, then dry toast the Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant (about 2 minutes), add to a mortar and pestle, and crush until a fine powder forms
ADD 1/4 cup peanut oil to the wok (at medium low heat), followed by the Thai chiles and Tin Jin peppers, then let simmer for 25-30 minutes, remove and set aside
HEAT a wok as hot ass possible, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil, and long yao
ADD the garlic, ginger, whites of the green onions, and bloom until fragrant (about 15 seconds)
ADD the ground pork to the wok, then toss for 2-3 minutes until browned
ADD the marinated tofu, sauce, and corn starch slurry, then reduce until desired thickness is reached
REMOVE from heat, then fold in the Sichuan peppercorn
SERVE over rice and finish the greens of green onions