How to Make Mapo Tofu

My mom taught me how to make this dish because it’s a good way to use tofu and it’s much better than anything you’d buy in a Chinese restaurant. It’s also extremely easy to make and is good for a quick weeknight dinner – the amount of hot sauce you add to the dish is up to you, but this is a quick, healthy, and easy dish that you should definitely try sometime.

Mapo Tofu Ingredients

2 boxes of regular tofu, cubed
1 pound of pork
3 large tablespoons of Chinese hot sauce
2 tablespoons of soy sauce, divided
2 tablespoons of corn starch, divided
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pinch sea salt
3-4 Green Onions
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Peanut oil for cooking

Combine one tablespoon corn starch, one tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder to the pork and combine:

Cube the tofu into large chunks:

Cook the seasoned pork with peanut oil:

Once the pork is fully cooked, remove it from the pan. The pork should all be brown when you remove it from the heat:

Add a little more peanut oil to the pan and cook your tofu (don’t stir it too much or it’ll all break apart):

While the tofu is cooking, mix together the Chinese hot sauce with the remaining tablespoons of soy sauce and corn starch:

Add the hot sauce to the tofu:

Next, add the pork back to the dish:

Stir gently to combine:

Right before you turn off the heat, add some chopped green onions and sesame oil:

Ta da – mapo tofu:

We usually eat the dish with some brown rice because it’s so hot – definitely a good dish to whip up on a very cold night – it warms up your entire body!