Fast and simple Japanese-style Mapo Tofu will fulfill you on a busy weeknight! This standard, homey dish options silken tofu and floor pork in a wealthy and savory sauce that goes completely with sizzling steamed rice.
One in every of my son’s favourite dishes in our Simple Faculty Meal Sequence is Japanese-style Mapo Tofu. When served over sizzling steamed rice, the mapo tofu makes for a hearty, one-bowl dish. That is one other foolproof, comforting recipe that you could prepare dinner in simply 10 minutes!
In the event you take pleasure in Japanese-style Chinese language recipes like this, strive my Gyoza, Chashu, and Japanese Fried Rice!
On this recipe, we prepare dinner the silky-soft tofu in a wealthy, mildly spicy, and savory sauce and add a small quantity of floor pork to boost the flavour. It’s so scrumptious that you simply’ll be proud you made it your self, with out giving in to takeout.
Why I Love This Recipe
Japanese-style Mapo Tofu is an adaptation of the unique Sichuan mapo tofu recognized for its vivid, fiery, and intensely spicy crimson sauce. The Japanese model is milder but nonetheless wealthy in umami taste. It’s appropriate for everybody, particularly those that want a much less spicy dish because it’s simple to regulate the spice degree to style.
- Fast and simple! The components and cooking course of are extra streamlined than my normal recipe. Since we’re utilizing an electrical pot, cleanup is comparatively simple, too.
- Hearty and wholesome! It’s scrumptious, wholesome, and full of protein!
- Simply customizable. The recipe is vegetarian/vegan-adaptable and I’ll present you beneath for how one can adapt it to fit your wants.
Elements for 10-Minute Mapo Tofu
- Mushy/silken tofu
- Floor pork
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Inexperienced onions/scallions
- Sauce:
- Doubanjiang (spicy or non-spicy broad bean paste) – This fermented seasoning provides an genuine and deeply savory character. With out it, the dish gained’t style the identical.
- Oyster sauce
- Soy sauce
- Miso – distinctive to Japanese-style mapo tofu
- Mirin – distinctive to Japanese-style mapo tofu
- Toasted sesame oil
- Potato starch or cornstarch
Discover the printable recipe with measurements beneath.
Substitutions
- Tofu: I like to recommend utilizing tender tofu because it provides a clean and creamy texture to the dish, however you need to use medium tofu if that’s what you could have.
- Doubanjiang: I personally use the Taiwanese manufacturers Lian How (岡山) or Ming De (明徳) which have a milder warmth degree. In the event you can’t discover these manufacturers, some individuals suggest utilizing gochujang (spicy Korean chili paste) or doenjang (non-spicy Korean soybean paste). I haven’t tried them earlier than, however these will alter the flavour profile. For spicy Sichuan doubanjiang, verify Amazon or different on-line Asian markets.
How To Make This Simple Mapo Tofu
Preparation
Step 1 – Prep the components earlier than you begin cooking. This dish cooks shortly! I strongly suggest that you simply measure and blend the sauce components and reduce the aromatics and tofu forward of time.
Cooking
Step 1 – Cook dinner the aromatics and meat collectively. Sauté the garlic and ginger till aromatic, then prepare dinner the pork till it’s not pink.
Step 2 – Add the sauce and simmer. Cook dinner and stir till the sauce bubbles and thickens.
Step 3 – Add the tofu and inexperienced onions. Coat the tofu with the sauce till the flavors infuse. Then, add the inexperienced onions.
Step 4 – Serve. Spoon the dish over steamed rice in a bowl to take pleasure in it donburi-style.
Nami’s Recipe Ideas
- Measure and reduce all of the components earlier than cooking begins.
- Mix all of the sauce components in a small bowl. I at all times give it a fast stir simply earlier than including it to the pot.
- Drain the tofu forward of time for about quarter-hour. This prevents the tofu from releasing further moisture into the sauce.
- Be cautious to not burn the garlic and ginger when stir-frying. You don’t wish to add a burnt, bitter style to the sauce.
- Fastidiously stir the tofu: Mushy tofu can simply break and get mushy. Gently coat the tofu with the sauce, minimizing spatula motion.
Variations and Customizations
- Change up the meat. Floor pork is normal in Japan, however you possibly can substitute it with floor turkey, hen, or beef.
- Make it vegetarian/vegan. As an alternative of meat, use finely diced contemporary or dried (rehydrated) shiitake mushrooms. Use vegetarian stir-fry sauce instead of oyster sauce.
- Modify the warmth degree. Add roughly doubanjiang, use the non-spicy model, or flip up the warmth with fiery Sichuan doubanjiang!
What To Serve with Mapo Tofu
- As a rice bowl – In the event you serve it donburi-style (mapo tofu over rice), I counsel including Home made Miso Soup and a easy veggie facet like Japanese Cucumber Salad to make it an entire meal.
- As the principle dish of an ichiju sansai meal – For a Japanese-style “One Soup Three Dishes” meal, serve the rice and mapo tofu in separate dishes, then add a miso soup, two facet dishes, and a small dish of Japanese pickles.
Storage and Reheating Ideas
To retailer: As soon as the mapo tofu is cooled to room temperature, retailer the leftovers in a glass hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days.
To freeze: I don’t suggest freezing this dish as tofu adjustments its texture as soon as frozen.
To reheat: Gently heat up in a saucepan over medium-low warmth till heated by way of.
Incessantly Requested Questions
For Japanese-style mapo tofu, I like to recommend the Taiwanese manufacturers Lian How (岡山) or Ming De (明徳) which have a milder warmth degree (extra brown shade) in comparison with the genuine Sichuan style (extra crimson shade).
Wrap a paper towel across the silken tofu and set it on a plate or tray to empty the moisture for about quarter-hour. Be light when dealing with since silken tofu may be very fragile. Don’t press the tofu as a result of it’s going to crumble simply.
Extra 10-Minute Simple Recipes
To learn to prepare dinner easy, quick, and reasonably priced meals utilizing a flexible electrical pot, try a few of our 10-Minute Faculty Meal Sequence beneath:
For the Rice Bowl (optionally available)
Stop your display from going darkish
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Collect all of the components. Earlier than you begin, drain the tofu for quarter-hour. Merely wrap it with a paper towel and set it on a plate or tray to empty. I exploit an electrical pot for this recipe and others within the 10-Minute Meal collection. You additionally may use an everyday saucepan on the range.
To Combine the Sauce
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In a bowl, mix the sauce components: 1 Tbsp doubanjiang (spicy chili bean paste), ½ Tbsp oyster sauce, ½ Tbsp miso, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp mirin, ½ tsp toasted sesame oil, ½ tsp potato starch or cornstarch, and 2 Tbsp water. Stir with a whisk till clean.
To Put together the Elements
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Thinly slice 1 inexperienced onion/scallion. Put aside a bit for garnish.
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Minimize ¼ block tender/silken tofu (kinugoshi dofu) into small cubes.
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Peel and mince 1 inch ginger. Mince 1 clove garlic (I exploit a garlic press).
To Cook dinner
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Activate the warmth to medium-high on the range or Mode II (600W) on the electrical pot. When it is sizzling, add 1 Tbsp impartial oil. Add the ginger and garlic to the new oil and sauté till aromatic; don’t let it burn.
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Add 4 oz floor pork and break up the chunks of meat with a spatula. Cook dinner till the meat is not pink.
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Give the sauce combination a closing stir, then add it to the pot. Simmer and stir to mix with the meat and thicken the sauce.
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As soon as the sauce is effervescent, decrease the warmth to medium or Mode I (250W). Fastidiously add the cubes of tofu to the pot.
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Coat the tofu with the sauce by shaking the pot as you stir gently. This can reduce breaking the tofu. Now, add a lot of the inexperienced onions, setting apart some for garnish.
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Cowl with a lid and let it simmer for a minute. Don’t overcook because the tofu’s texture will change.
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Flip off the warmth and switch to particular person bowls. Right here, I serve it donburi-style over sizzling steamed rice.
To Serve
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Garnish with the remaining sliced inexperienced onions. You’ll be able to serve the mapo tofu over steamed rice in a one-bowl meal with a facet of soup, or serve the rice and mapo tofu in separate bowls in an ichiju sansai meal.
