I’ve been working on eating healthier during the week to compensate for weekend indulgences. This typically means a lot of tofu for protein. One of my favourite tofu recipes is Mapo Tofu, a dish made easy with one important ingredient, Doubanjiang (spicy bean paste, 豆瓣酱). I prefer using firm tofu because it’s easier to cook with but I prefer the taste of soft tofu. I also find there is enough salt in the doubanjiang for the dish, but salt can be added if needed.

Mapo Tofu

2015-09-06 16:39:11

Serves 2

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

20 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

10 min

Total Time

20 min

Ingredients

1. 2 blocks of firm tofu, diced (2 cups)
2. 1/4 lb of ground pork
3. 3 tbsp of doubanjiang, spicy bean paste
4. 2 tbsp chili powder
5. 1 tbsp ground Sichuan peppercorns
6. 1 tbsp light soy sauce
7. 1 tbsp of fermented black beans
8. 2 cloves of garlic, minced
9. 1/4 cup of green onion, diced
10. 1/2 cup of water
11. 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Dry roast the Sichuan peppercorns until fragrant and grind to a powder
2. Dice the tofu, chop the green onion and mince the garlic
3. In a wok, add the vegetable oil and wait until it just begins to smoke, add in the chopped garlic, ground pork and spicy bean paste, stir fry until the meat is half cooked
4. Add in the soy sauce, fermented black bean and chili powder, stir fry until the meat is cooked through
5. Add in the diced tofu, water, ground Sichuan peppercorn and gently stir into the meat sauce
6. Simmer for 3-5 minutes
7. Top with green onions and serve over rice

xiaoEats | Toronto Food Blog http://xiaoeats.com/

Step by Step Photos

Assemble ingredients

Roast and grind the Sichuan peppercorns

Dice the tofu, mince the garlic, chop the green onions and measure out other ingredients

Stir fry the ground pork with aromatics and spices, add in the tofu, water and gently stir into the sauce

Top with green onions and serve over rice

A group of us met up for lunch at Sogong-Dong Tofu House just as a snowstorm hit Markham. While the fluffy flakes fell outside, it was comforting to sip on the hot and spicy tofu stew inside. Sogong-Dong is located in First Markham Place where parking is always a challenge. The restaurant itself was quiet that day (people who heeded snow warnings and stayed home?) and our group of 7 was seated comfortably along one wall.

A friend and I shared a lunch combo that included a full size bibimbap and an adorable sized tofu stew (about half a full order). Both dishes were well seasoned and arrived sizzling/boiling hot. There was plenty of nice burnt rice on the bottom of the bibimbap bowl and the spicy sauce provided was strong. Overall the food was pretty standard to above par and had great flavour. Service was kind of meh. While it was a slow day, our table was still pretty much ignored. Only one server was working the dining room, but there were only at most three groups eating at a time. We didn’t get any drinks or side dishes refilled.

If you’re craving tofu stew and in Markham, Sogong-Dong will satisfy it.