Sizzling Szechuan Sunday.

Szechuan dishes (it’s se-shwan or see-shwan, though I prefer the latter) are oily, spicy and especially peppery–perfect for a cold January.

I first tasted this dish during a baptismal get-together (my cousin’s daughter, Summer, chose me as his godfather). I thought it was plain ground beef with the usual diced potatoes and carrots but I was wrong.It was slightly flaming, like it numbs your tongue for minutes and sucks the flavor out of you–which is bad, I think, since you can’t enjoy the other dishes.

Then last week, I asked my Dad if he could still remember that soupy dish we ate at my aunt’s house at California (her husband was Chinese-American so she cooks Chinese dishes a lot) with broccoli and tofu and ground pork. Dad told me it was Mafi Dofu, or something similar to the name.

I searched it to the net and it was called Mapo Dofu (in Chinese, it means “pockmarked grandmother’s bean curd”). Regrettably, the dish we ate in California and this dish Dad told me about–this Mapo Doufu/Tofu–isn’t the same. They are totally different, and until now I am still in pursuit of that lovely Chinese dish.

I cooked it anyway.

Anyways, my version of Mapo Tofu is a stir-fried kind–I wouldn’t like it to be soupy, for one. I also used red chili peppers in replacement with that of Szechuan peppercorns, and green bell peppers (I added these for color, lol).

Here’s my version:

First, you put oil in a wok. Even out the oil by sort-of shaking the wok (or rotating the wok) to the sides.

Put the marinated ground pork (the marinade I made is simple: Five Spice and Teriyaki Sauce will do). Remove the pork after it becomes slightly cooked–don’t overcook it.

After removing the ground pork, put oil on the wok again.

This time, saute minced garlic and finely chopped spring onions. Fry them for thirty seconds or less.

Put tomato paste (not too many) and diced tofu.

Put back the ground pork and let it simmer for five to ten minutes, or less if desired. Dash pepper (not too many, I’m warning you) and black bean paste (or tausi) to taste. Be careful in adding black beans / paste–it should be a spoonful or two tablespoons, since putting lots of it would kill the spiciness of the dish.

Put green bell peppers and red chili peppers. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes until the pork becomes brown.

For the first time since I made my Thai Spring Rolls, Dad told me to cook this dish again for next week. That means something.

February 1, 2009 at 6:12 pm, filed under Gastrorgasmic. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.