Best for: The dish that teaches you what ma-la means.
Mapo tofu is the dish that explains Sichuan cooking: soft tofu cubes poached in a fiery chile-bean sauce with browned pork, finished with ground Sichuan pepper for the famous ma-la — numbing and hot together. A cast-iron skillet on the grill keeps the sauce at a rolling bubble and goes straight to the table.
Cast iron: Large cast-iron skillet over direct medium-high heat on the grill; 425°F. Equipment: 12-inch cast-iron skillet, grill, saucepan, spatula.
Ingredients
15 minutes. Total: 30 minutes.
- 14 oz soft or medium tofu, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon fine table salt, for the tofu water
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil
- 2 1/2 tablespoons chile bean paste (doubanjiang), finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fermented black beans, rinsed
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup water or unsalted chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper, plus more to finish
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
Directions
Simmer the tofu cubes gently for 2 minutes in water with the salt, then drain carefully — this firms soft tofu and seasons it through. Keep the cast-iron skillet heating on the grill at 425°F.
Add the neutral oil to the skillet and brown the ground pork for 3–4 minutes, breaking it fine, until crisp at the edges and cooked to 160°F.
Push the pork aside and fry the chile bean paste, black beans, ginger, and garlic in the oil for 1 minute, until the oil is deep red and fragrant.
Pour in the water or stock, soy sauce, and sugar and bring to a boil. Slide the tofu in gently and simmer for 4–5 minutes, shaking the skillet instead of stirring hard.
Drizzle in half the cornstarch slurry, let the sauce thicken for 30 seconds, then repeat — mapo sauce should coat, not clump.
Off the heat, stir in the sesame oil and ground Sichuan pepper, scatter with the scallions and extra pepper, and serve in the skillet with plenty of rice.
Grilling tip: Shaking the skillet instead of stirring keeps the tofu cubes whole — a mapo full of tofu rubble is a flavor win but a texture loss.
