Ma Po Tofu v2.0

It’s been raining nonstop here since Friday afternoon, barring torrential the past couple days. Seems like every building in Boston has a leak too. The elevators in my building have been out since Sunday and the poor people on the top floor need to do it the old fashioned way, 7 flights of stairs. Can’t say I’m envious at all! At least it’s supposed to be sunny and 60 degrees today. It’ll be a welcome change…that’s for sure!

One thing I’d like to introduce to the site is a running list of the recipes that I’ve accumulated towards my “100 weeknight recipes” goal. It’ll be an ongoing project, thanks to my laziness, to keep it updated, but I’ll try my best! It’s about time I did something other than just post about food. Maybe I’ll even update some old posts too. Here’s the link but there’s also a tab at the top right corner of the blog, go click it!

I’ve also been ransacking the net for some ideas on how I can improve the site. Thinking about switching WordPress themes and even trying to learn a bit more about web development in general. I code for work, but it’s not really similar to web development at all, and it’s something I think I should be able to learn. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know, much appreciated!!!

I’ve been making Ma Po Tofu about once every month to 2 months these days. I’ve been experimenting with some of the salty/spicyness of the dish and the last couple batches have been pretty good, I was surprised! But then again, I had a great recipe and pictorial to work with from hzrt8w (eGullet). The pictorials have been a huge help and there’s a wealth of information there.

A couple of the substitutions I’ve been making are thai bird chillies instead of dried chillies and some extra Sriracha for a little more kick.

Recipe adapted from hzrt8w of eGullet.

Ma Po Tofu v2.0

Time: 45 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
– 32oz silken tofu, sliced into columns
– 1 lb ground pork
– 2-3 stalks scallions, chopped
– 6 garlic cloves, minced
– 6 dried chillies, seeds removed
– 1 inch piece of ginger, grated
– 1 tsp roasted/ground sichuan peppercorns
– 2 tsp Corn starch
– 1-2 tbsp water

Marinade:
– 1 tsp white pepper
– 1 tsp sesame oil
– 1 tsp corn starch
– 1 tsp light soy sauce
– 1 tsp ShaoHsing rice wine

Sauce 1:
– 2 tsp Chili Bean sauce
– 5 tsp Hoisin sauce
– 2 tsp Brown Bean sauce
– 2 tsp ShaoHsing rice wine
– 1 tsp White vinegar / ChinKiang vinegar
– Sriracha

Sauce 2:
– 1/2 cup Chicken Broth
– 2 tsp sugar

Method:
1. Heat frying pan over high heat. Add some oil. Brown the pork for a few minutes until just cooked. Break the pork apart. Remove and set aside.
2. Add some more oil to the hot pan, and add the chillies for about 10-15 seconds. Then add ginger and garlic. Stir fry for another 30 seconds and add sauce #1 in for another 15 seconds.
3. Add sauce #2, bring to a boil. Mix the corn starch and water and add in.
4. Add the tofu in, bring the mixture to a boil undisturbed (the tofu will break apart easily and we’ll break it apart into cubes later).
5. Add the pork, scallions, and sichuan pepper and stir to combine. Break apart the bigger tofu bits as you see fit.