Mapo tofu (Chinese: 麻婆豆腐; pinyin: mápó dòufu) is a popular Chinese dish from Sichuan province.[1] It consists of tofu set in a spicy sauce, typically a thin, oily, and bright red suspension, based on douban (fermented broad bean and chili paste), and douchi (fermented black beans), along with minced meat, traditionally beef.[2] Variations exist with other ingredients such as water chestnuts, onions, other vegetables, or wood ear fungus. One account indicates that the dish existed as early as 1254, in a suburb of Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan. Other accounts indicate it originated at a Chengdu restaurant in the 1860s.[3]
"Ma" stands for mázi, 麻子, which means pockmarks. "Po" is the first syllable of pópo, 婆婆, which means an old woman or grandma. Hence, mápó is an old woman whose face is pockmarked. It is thus sometimes translated as "pockmarked grandma's beancurd".[1]
According to Mrs. Chiang's Szechwan Cookbook: "Eugene Wu, the Librarian of the Harvard Yenching Library, grew up in Chengdu and claims that as a schoolboy he used to eat Pock-Marked Ma's Bean Curd or mapo doufu, at a restaurant run by the original Pock-Marked Ma herself. One ordered by weight, specifying how many grams of bean curd and meat, and the serving would be weighed out and cooked as the diner watched. It arrived at the table fresh, fragrant, and so spicy hot, or la, that it actually caused sweat to break out."[4]
In Japan, the dish was introduced and popularized by the Chinese-Japanese chef Chen Kenmin. His son, Chen Kenichi, made it more popular as it was one of his trademark dishes on the television program Iron Chef.[5][6][7]
Characteristicsedit
Authentic mapo tofu is powerfully spicy with both conventional "heat" spiciness and the characteristic málà (numbing spiciness) flavor of Sichuan cuisine. The feel of the particular dish is often described by cooks using seven specific Chinese adjectives: má 麻 (numbing), là 辣 (spicy hot), tàng 烫 (hot temperature), xiān 鲜 (fresh), nèn 嫩 (tender and soft), xiāng 香 (aromatic), and sū 酥 (flaky). The authentic form of the dish is increasingly easy to find outside China today, but it is usually adapted for non-Sichuanese tastes.
Mapo tofu can also be found in restaurants in other Chinese provinces, as well as in Japan and Korea where the flavor is adapted to local tastes. In the West the dish is often greatly changed, with its spiciness toned down in order to widen its appeal.[citation needed][9]This happens particularly in Chinese restaurants which do not specialize in Sichuan cuisine. The dish is often made without meat to appeal to vegetarians, using shiitake, other edible mushrooms, or plant-based meat substitutes. In preparing the vegetarian version of the dish, one can add pickled vegetables (zha cai or ya cai) to create more flavor to make up for the absence of the meat, but these are optional. The pickles can also be added to the non-vegetarian dish if desired.[10][11]
^ Schrecker, Ellen with Shrecker, John. Mrs. Chiang's Szechwan Cookbook. New York, Harper & Row, 1976. p. 220.
^"Moodi Foodi". Facebook. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
^"Chen Kenmin". Spectroom.com. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
^"Chen Kenichi Mabo Tofu - Tokyo Eats". Tokyoeats.jp. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
^"Mapo tofu practice". Meishi China (in Chinese). Retrieved 27 April 2013.
^JINGBO, XU. "Mapa Tofu: How Chinese Cuisine Influenced the Table of Japanese?".
^Law, Kenneth (2004). Authentic Recipes from China. Singapore: Periplus Editions. p. 69. ISBN0794602088.
^López-Alt, J. Kenji. "The Best Vegan Mapo Tofu Recipe". Serious Eats. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mapo doufu.
Erway, Cathy (2020-02-05). "Mapo Tofu's Fiery Path to World Domination". Saveur. - Copy at Getpocket
Category:Chinese cuisine
April 12, 2024
mapo, tofu, chinese, 麻婆豆腐, pinyin, mápó, dòufu, popular, chinese, dish, from, sichuan, province, consists, tofu, spicy, sauce, typically, thin, oily, bright, suspension, based, douban, fermented, broad, bean, chili, paste, douchi, fermented, black, beans, alon. Mapo tofu Chinese 麻婆豆腐 pinyin mapo doufu is a popular Chinese dish from Sichuan province 1 It consists of tofu set in a spicy sauce typically a thin oily and bright red suspension based on douban fermented broad bean and chili paste and douchi fermented black beans along with minced meat traditionally beef 2 Variations exist with other ingredients such as water chestnuts onions other vegetables or wood ear fungus One account indicates that the dish existed as early as 1254 in a suburb of Chengdu the capital city of Sichuan Other accounts indicate it originated at a Chengdu restaurant in the 1860s 3 Mapo tofuA bowl of mapo tofuPlace of originChinaRegion or stateSichuanMain ingredientsTofu douban fermented broadbean and chili paste and douchi fermented black beans along with minced meatCookbook Mapo tofu Media Mapo tofuMapo tofuChinese麻婆豆腐Hanyu Pinyinmapo doufuLiteral meaning pockmarked old woman beancurd TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu Pinyinmapo doufuBopomofoㄇㄚˊ ㄆㄛˊ ㄉㄡˋ ㄈㄨGwoyeu Romatzyhmapor dow fuuWade Gilesma2 pʻo2 tou4 fuTongyong Pinyinmapo doufuYale Romanizationmapwo doufuIPA ma pʰwo to ʊ fu Yue CantoneseYale Romanizationmahpoh dauhfuhJyutpingmaa4po4 dau6fu6IPA maː pʰɔː tɐu fuː Southern MinHokkien POJba po tau hu Contents 1 Etymology and history 2 Characteristics 3 Variations 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksEtymology and history edit Ma stands for mazi 麻子 which means pockmarks Po is the first syllable of popo 婆婆 which means an old woman or grandma Hence mapo is an old woman whose face is pockmarked It is thus sometimes translated as pockmarked grandma s beancurd 1 According to Mrs Chiang s Szechwan Cookbook Eugene Wu the Librarian of the Harvard Yenching Library grew up in Chengdu and claims that as a schoolboy he used to eat Pock Marked Ma s Bean Curd or mapo doufu at a restaurant run by the original Pock Marked Ma herself One ordered by weight specifying how many grams of bean curd and meat and the serving would be weighed out and cooked as the diner watched It arrived at the table fresh fragrant and so spicy hot or la that it actually caused sweat to break out 4 In Japan the dish was introduced and popularized by the Chinese Japanese chef Chen Kenmin His son Chen Kenichi made it more popular as it was one of his trademark dishes on the television program Iron Chef 5 6 7 Characteristics editAuthentic mapo tofu is powerfully spicy with both conventional heat spiciness and the characteristic mala numbing spiciness flavor of Sichuan cuisine The feel of the particular dish is often described by cooks using seven specific Chinese adjectives ma 麻 numbing la 辣 spicy hot tang 烫 hot temperature xian 鲜 fresh nen 嫩 tender and soft xiang 香 aromatic and su 酥 flaky The authentic form of the dish is increasingly easy to find outside China today but it is usually adapted for non Sichuanese tastes The most important and necessary ingredients in the dish that give it the distinctive flavour are chili broad bean paste salty bean paste from Sichuan s Pixian county 郫县豆瓣酱 fermented black beans chili oil chili flakes of the heaven facing pepper 朝天辣椒 Sichuan peppercorns garlic ginger green onions and rice wine citation needed Supplementary ingredients include water or stock sugar depending on the saltiness of the bean paste brand used and starch if it is desired to thicken the sauce 8 Variations editMapo tofu can also be found in restaurants in other Chinese provinces as well as in Japan and Korea where the flavor is adapted to local tastes In the West the dish is often greatly changed with its spiciness toned down in order to widen its appeal citation needed 9 This happens particularly in Chinese restaurants which do not specialize in Sichuan cuisine The dish is often made without meat to appeal to vegetarians using shiitake other edible mushrooms or plant based meat substitutes In preparing the vegetarian version of the dish one can add pickled vegetables zha cai or ya cai to create more flavor to make up for the absence of the meat but these are optional The pickles can also be added to the non vegetarian dish if desired 10 11 Gallery edit nbsp Mapo tofu in Hong Kong nbsp Mapo tofu at a restaurant in Kobe Japan nbsp Homemade mapo tofu nbsp A vegetarian version of Mapo tofu in which diced shitake mushrooms are used as a substitute for ground meat See also edit nbsp China portal nbsp Food portalChinese cuisine Sichuan cuisine Kung Pao chicken List of Chinese dishes List of tofu dishesReferences edit a b Nguyen Andrea October 5 2020 What I Learned From Loving Mapo Tofu New York Times Archived from the original on 8 November 2023 Dunlop Fuchsia 2001 Land of Plenty W W Norton Company pp 313 ISBN 0393051773 https www chinadaily com cn kindle 2015 09 06 content 21798522 htm bare URL Schrecker Ellen with Shrecker John Mrs Chiang s Szechwan Cookbook New York Harper amp Row 1976 p 220 Moodi Foodi Facebook Retrieved 12 February 2019 Chen Kenmin Spectroom com Retrieved 12 February 2019 Chen Kenichi Mabo Tofu Tokyo Eats Tokyoeats jp 20 August 2012 Retrieved 12 February 2019 Mapo tofu practice Meishi China in Chinese Retrieved 27 April 2013 JINGBO XU Mapa Tofu How Chinese Cuisine Influenced the Table of Japanese Law Kenneth 2004 Authentic Recipes from China Singapore Periplus Editions p 69 ISBN 0794602088 Lopez Alt J Kenji The Best Vegan Mapo Tofu Recipe Serious Eats Retrieved 24 August 2023 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mapo doufu Erway Cathy 2020 02 05 Mapo Tofu s Fiery Path to World Domination Saveur Copy at Getpocket Category Chinese cuisine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mapo tofu amp oldid 1218326139, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
