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Fast and straightforward 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 scorching steamed rice.
One in all my son’s favourite dishes in our Simple Faculty Meal Collection is Japanese-style Mapo Tofu. When served over scorching steamed rice, the mapo tofu makes for a hearty, one-bowl dish. That is one other foolproof, comforting recipe that you would be able to prepare dinner in simply 10 minutes!
Should 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 just’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 shiny, fiery, and intensely spicy purple sauce. The Japanese model is milder but nonetheless wealthy in umami taste. It’s appropriate for everybody, particularly those that desire a much less spicy dish because it’s simple to regulate the spice degree to style.
- Fast and straightforward! The elements 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 under for tips on how to adapt it to fit your wants.
Substances for 10-Minute Mapo Tofu
- Tender/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 under.
Substitutions
- Tofu: I like to recommend utilizing gentle tofu because it provides a easy and creamy texture to the dish, however you should use medium tofu if that’s what you will have.
- Doubanjiang: I personally use the Taiwanese manufacturers Lian How (岡山) or Ming De (明徳) which have a milder warmth degree. Should you can’t discover these manufacturers, some individuals advocate 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, test Amazon or different on-line Asian markets.
How To Make This Simple Mapo Tofu
Preparation
Step 1 – Prep the elements earlier than you begin cooking. This dish cooks shortly! I strongly advocate that you just measure and blend the sauce elements and minimize 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 now 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 Suggestions
- Measure and minimize all of the elements earlier than cooking begins.
- Mix all of the sauce elements in a small bowl. I all the time 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: Tender 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 the usual in Japan, however you’ll be able to substitute it with floor turkey, floor hen, or floor beef.
- Make it vegetarian/vegan. As a substitute of meat, use finely diced contemporary or dried (rehydrated) shiitake mushrooms. Use vegetarian stir-fry sauce instead of oyster sauce.
- Alter the warmth degree. Add kind of doubanjiang, use the non-spicy model, or degree as much as fiery Sichuan doubanjiang!
What To Serve with Mapo Tofu
- As a rice bowl – Should you serve it donburi-style (mapo tofu over rice), I recommend including Home made Miso Soup and a easy veggie aspect like Japanese Cucumber Salad to make it a whole 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 aspect dishes, and a small dish of Japanese pickles.
Storage and Reheating Suggestions
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 advocate freezing this dish as tofu modifications its texture as soon as frozen.
To reheat: Gently heat up in a saucepan over medium-low warmth till heated by way of.
Continuously 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 purple 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 mild when dealing with since silken tofu could be very fragile. Don’t press the tofu as a result of it can crumble simply.
Extra 10-Minute Simple Recipes
To discover ways to prepare dinner easy, quick, and reasonably priced meals utilizing a flexible electrical pot, take a look at a few of our 10-Minute Faculty Meal Collection under:
For the Rice Bowl (non-obligatory)
Forestall your display screen from going darkish
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Collect all of the elements. 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 a daily saucepan on the range.
To Combine the Sauce
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In a bowl, mix the sauce elements: 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 easy.
To Put together the Substances
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Thinly slice 1 inexperienced onion/scallion. Put aside a bit for garnish.
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Minimize ¼ block gentle/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 scorching, 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 now not pink.
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Give the sauce combination a remaining 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 may 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 scorching steamed rice.
To Serve
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Garnish with the remaining sliced inexperienced onions. You may serve the mapo tofu over steamed rice in a one-bowl meal with a aspect of soup, or serve the rice and mapo tofu in separate bowls in an ichiju sansai meal.
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