Ma Po Tofu Recipe
Ingredients (23)
For the marinade:
- 1 (four-pound) boneless pork shoulder, untrimmed and lower into one-inch cubes
- one cup Shaoxing wine
- one/2 cup Chinese black vinegar, furthermore more as wanted
For the sauce:
- 2 ounces dried arbol chiles
- 1/four cup star anise pods
- 2 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorns
- two/three cup packed dim brown sugar, plus a lot more as necessary
- one/3 cup kosher salt
- two cups h2o
- 1 bay leaf
- one cardamom pod
- 1/four cup additionally 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar, as well as much more as wanted
- one/4 cup minced fresh garlic (about 1/two medium head)
- 1/4 cup peeled and minced clean ginger (about 1 [3- to 4-inch] piece)
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons fermented black beans, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce, furthermore much more as essential
- four ounces beech mushrooms, stems trimmed
- Chile oil, as essential
To provide:
- 2 (one-pound) offers comfortable tofu, drained and reduce into one-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped refreshing cilantro
- two scallions, thinly sliced (white and light-weight environmentally friendly parts only)
- Steamed white rice
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Ma po tofu, in some cases translated as “pockmarked-facial area lady’s tofu,” is a spicy tofu dish slathered with a prosperous, savory sauce of chiles, minced meat, and spices, virtually like Chinese chili con carne, with the numbing ability of Sichuan peppercorns. At Mission Chinese Meals in San Francisco, they marinate a hunk of pork shoulder, grind it, stew it up in a fiery and fragrant blend of freshly ground spices, and blend in some tofu just just before serving. Mission Chinese Food’s chef, Danny Bowien, advises serving leftover sauce above sautéed Chinese long beans or eggplant.
What to get: Chinese black vinegar is a robustly flavored rice vinegar that can be identified at most Asian marketplaces. Make confident it is not labeled “sweetened black vinegar.”
Fermented black beans, recognised as douchi in Chinese, are soybeans that have been salted and fermented, turning them black, smooth, and dry. These savory, salty, and somewhat sweet and bitter beans are utilised as a flavoring agent during Chinese cooking. Fermented black beans can be identified in the dry products portion of most Asian markets.
If you can not find gentle tofu, substitute company, but do not use silken tofu, as its smooth texture will disintegrate into the sauce.
Beech mushrooms, also called clamshell or hon-shimeji, originate from Southeast Asia and are well known in Japan. These modest, white or brown capped fungi are sweet and nutty and retain their condition nicely when cooked, lending on their own effectively to stews, soups, and sauces. They can be identified at many Asian grocers, however sliced button or little one bella mushrooms can be substituted if required.
Specific gear: You are going to have to have a meat grinder for this recipe. We used the particular attachments for a KitchenAid stand mixer.
You are going to also want a spice or espresso grinder. We employed this Krups espresso grinder with excellent outcomes.
Recreation plan: Because this recipe can make 12 cups of meat sauce and you only want three cups for the ma po tofu, freeze the leftovers for a simple weeknight meal.
Adapted from Chef Danny Bowien
Strategies for Pork
Pork fares ideal in the freezer if packaged with freezer-pleasant products like waxed paper, aluminum foil, or major-obligation plastic bags.
Wrap any meat tightly so that air does not escape and freeze at 0°F. Frequently, new cuts of pork can very last up to 6 months, while floor pork can past up to three.
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Pork is most straightforward to thaw when placed in the fridge in its first wrapping. Little roasts will consider a few to five several hours for every pound, while much larger roasts can just take up to 7 hours per pound. Thawing ground pork depends fully on the thickness of its packaging.
It is risk-free to prepare dinner frozen or partly-frozen pork, but its cooking time may well just take 50 % for a longer time. Frozen pork need to not be cooked in a sluggish cooker.
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Sealed pork merchandise can usually very last in the fridge for two to four days, with ground pork getting a a little shorter shelf lifestyle at just one to a few. Ham or other smoked pork merchandise like bacon can be saved for up to a week, however this only applies to solutions that are not vacuum sealed or organized with preservatives. The latter can obviously past a good deal lengthier.
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Directions
- 1Position all ingredients in a big bowl and stir to evenly coat the pork. Cover and refrigerate for at the very least 2 hours and up to four hours.
For the sauce:
- 1Warmth the oven to 400°F and organize a rack in the center. Position the chiles in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast till slightly darkened and fragrant, about three to 5 minutes. Allow awesome absolutely. Using a spice grinder or cleanse coffee grinder, grind the chiles into a fantastic powder. Transfer to a medium bowl. Grind the star anise pods together with the Sichuan peppercorns into a high-quality powder and include to the chiles established aside.
- twoWhen the pork is ready, established a colander around a large bowl and transfer the pork and marinade mixture to the colander. Established the marinade aside. Utilizing a meat grinder equipped with a coarse (one/4-inch) dye, grind the pork into a significant Dutch oven or a hefty-bottomed pot with a tightfitting lid.
- 3Increase the floor spice combination, reserved marinade, brown sugar, salt, h2o, bay leaf, and cardamom pod to the ground pork and stir to blend. Deliver to a simmer in excess of medium-higher heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring often, till the meat is no for a longer period pink, about 15 minutes. Minimize the warmth to small, deal with, and simmer right up until the flavors have melded, about two hours, stirring each 50 percent hour. Meanwhile, place the vinegar, garlic, ginger, tomato paste, fermented black beans, and soy sauce in a medium bowl and stir to merge established aside.
- 4When the pork is ready, take out from heat, increase the reserved black bean combination and the mushrooms, and stir to blend. Taste and year with chile oil, extra soy sauce, brown sugar, and black or white vinegar as required to harmony the flavors. (At this stage, you can awesome the sauce absolutely, then transfer it to a container with a tightfitting lid and freeze it for up to one month.)
To provide:
- onePlace 3 cups of the sauce in a large frying pan around medium-large heat right until simmering. Insert the tofu, stir gently to mix, and simmer right until the tofu is heated through, about 3 minutes.
- twoTransfer to a serving bowl, garnish with cilantro and scallions, and provide with steamed rice.