I grew up eating this dish at Chinese restaurants, and every once in a while my mother made this at home from a ma po seasoning packet. I decided to try a recipe from scratch. Cut 16 oz firm tofu into ½ inch pieces, soak in boiling water for 15 minutes, and then drain and set aside, reserving 1 1/3 cups of the tofu water for later use. Separately, toast 1 tsp (I reduced to ¾ tsp) Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant, then grind and set aside. In the same wok, saute about 1 lb minced pork in a little oil. When fully cooked, add 2 ½ to 3 Tbsp Pixian chile bean sauce, 1 Tbsp Chinese fermented black beans (rinsed and drained), 1 tsp microplaned ginger, and a dash of crushed red pepper. Cook on medium for a few minutes, stirring frequently, then add 1 tsp sugar and 2 tsp soy sauce. Mix well, then gently fold the tofu cubes into the sauce. Add the reserved tofu water, then let cook until tofu cubes absorb the sauce (about 3 mins). Season to taste with salt or sugar (I added a bit more sugar), then add 2 chopped scallions. Season to taste (for ex, if too salty, add a few tsp of water). Add some cornstarch mixed with water into a slurry (here, about 1 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp cold water) until the sauce is slightly thickened, but still soupy. Sprinkle crushed Sichuan peppercorn overtop and then mix. Serve with rice (here, we used jasmine). This recipe is from Asian Tofu by Andrea Nguyen, who is one of my favorite cookbook authors. (May 2014)
Cooking Adventures 