Ma po tofu with minced chicken

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I grew up eating the pork version of this dish at Chinese restaurants, and every once in a while my mother made this at home from a ma po seasoning packet. Back in 2014, I decided to try a scratch recipe from Andrea Nguyen’s Asian Tofu cookbook. Over time, I tweaked her ma po tofu recipe to make it slightly healthier by replacing minced pork with minced chicken and slightly reducing the high-sodium seasonings.

Cut 14 oz firm tofu into ½” dice, 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 (see Note below). Separately, toast ¾ tsp Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant, then grind and set aside. In the same wok, heat 2 Tbsp vegetable oil in medium heat, then saute about 1 lb minced chicken (if the chicken releases a lot of liquid, I recommend sopping up the liquid with a dry paper towel and adding 1 tsp oil to mimic the fat that pork would have released). When fully cooked, add 2 1/4 (possibly 2 1/2) Tbsp Pixian chile bean sauce, 1 scant 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 1/4 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 on medium-low heat 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 jasmine rice. (Originally posted May 2014, then recreated in Aug. 2022)

Note: Ms. Nguyen’s original recipe calls for 16 oz (1 lb) firm tofu. However, firm tofu typically is sold in 14 oz packages, so I adjusted the recipe accordingly.

This recipe is from Andrea Nguyen’s cookbook, Asian Tofu: Discover the Best, Make Your Own, and Cook It at Home (Ten Speed Press, 2012).