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Mapo Tofu Recipe...

My secret ingredient? A goddamn instant seasoning packet.
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MAPO TOFU

Serves 4

Listen, I cheated. I used a pre-made seasoning packet for this recipe. And while I would have loved to have made The Woks of Life “real deal” version, I honestly don’t always feel like purchasing a lot of ingredients that I’ll only use for one recipe. It called for fried red chilies, Thai chilies, Sichuan peppercorns and spicy black bean paste. Am I a weakling when it comes to spicy food? Yup. Does that make it probably not a Mapo tofu now and probably just some basic ass pork and tofu dish? Possibly. Do I care? Ehhhhhhhhh.

I tried to see if Omsom had a sauce packet for Mapo Tofu, but the closest I could find was their Chinese Mala Salad Starter, which I’m sure is not the same thing? So, I went with the House Foods brand (a Japanese company) because…it was literally the only one they had at the store.

Chinese Mabo Tofu Sauce Mild | House Foods

By the time I had added adobo seasoning and sofrito to the mix, I think I crossed the threshold of caring and there was no turning back. I doctored it up in only the way that my mother has shown me to add a little something of yourself to the dish.

1 tablespoon of oil

1 pound ground pork

1 tablespoon of unsalted adobo

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced

4 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 - 5.9 ounce packet of Mapo Tofu, mild

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons of sofrito

Chili Crisp, to taste

Sriracha, to taste

1 pound soft tofu 

In a 10” skillet or pan or pot, over medium high heat, bring your oil to temp. Add your ground pork to the hot oil and season with adobo. Add in your finger and garlic. Allow the meat to brown and the garlic and ginger to soften.

Add in your sauce packet and add water to the packet, ensuring you get all the residual sauce. Add sofrito, chili crisp, sriracha and simmer for a few minutes. Add in your tofu and simmer on medium low to low, for 15 minutes allowing the tofu to absorb the sauce.

Serve with white rice.

The next day I added a shit ton of lemongrass to the leftovers. It was insane.

NOTE: There are different spice levels when it comes to the Mapo tofu sauce packets. I used mild and build my spice to reach my tolerance. But, they also offer a medium spicy and spicy spicy! 

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illyanna Maisonet