Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐)

:<

Most ingredients are either shelf stable (and can be bought online/shipped) or easy to find in normal grocery stores.

Online, get:

• Sichuan peppercorns (red)
• Chinese chili oil
• Chinese doubanjiang (usually coming from the "Pi Xian" region is a good indicator of quality)
• Shelf stable packages of tofu (alternatively, if you have access to refrigerated tofu at your grocery store, I like that better).

In a regular grocery store, get:

• Ground beef
• Ginger
• Scallions/Green Onion
• Garlic
• (Optional) Corn starch
• (Optional) Tofu if you can get it, if not, buy the shelf stable stuff online
• (Optional) some kind of stock

Prep:

• Toast sichuan peppercorns dry, and then grind them up and set aside.
• Mince garlic and ginger.
• Slice scallions.
• Cut tofu into cubes.

Cook:

• Stir fry ground beef until browned. Season with salt.
• Add doubanjiang, cook it in.
• Add ginger and garlic, cook that in.
• Add starch and incorporate it.
• Add stock or water so that the starchy sauce forms.
• Check salt levels, see if it tastes right.
• Add chili oil.
• Add cubed tofu, stir it gently in.
• Plate.
• Sprinkle sichuan peppercorn over the top.
• Add scallions over the top.
• Spoon from plate over a bowl of rice, like a gravy.

Meat is optional. I've made it with finely diced mushrooms, various meat substitutes, or just leaving out the meat component entirely.

But once you find your rhythm this is a sub-30 minute dish from beginning to end, including prep, and can become a weeknight staple.

It's a fairly liquid dish, but not super soupy. It's just that all the tofu is submerged in chili oil because of its own weight here.