Mapo Tofu

Ingredients

• Chicken broth

  Soup, canned, ready-to-serve

  ¼ cup or 60g

• Hot Pepper Beans Paste

  Daesang America

  1 serving or 19g

• Soy sauce

  Regular sodium, Shoyu

  2 tbsp or 32g

• Tofu

  Soft, prepared with calcium sulfate and magnesium chloride (nigari)

  450g

• Peanut oil

  Salad or cooking

  1 tbsp or 14g

• Garlic

  Raw

  1 clove or 3g

• Ginger root

  Raw

  1 tbsp or 6g

• Cornstarch

  1 tbsp or 8g

• Sesame oil

  Salad or cooking

  1 ½ tsp or 7g

• Toasted Sichuan-peppercorn powder

  1 tsp or 100g

• Scallions

  Spring onions or scallions (includes tops and bulb), raw

  3 tbsp chopped or 18g

• Ground pork

  Fresh, raw

  250g

Directions

1. Make sauce: Stir together broth, bean paste, soy sauce, and kosher salt. Set aside.
2. Poach tofu: Slide tofu into a saucepan of simmering water and keep at a bare simmer while stir-frying rest of dish.
3. Stir-fry pork: Heat a wok or large heavy skillet over high heat until hot and add 1 1/2 tablespoons corn oil, swirling to coat. Add pork and stir-fry, breaking up lumps and adding remaining 1/2 tablespoon corn oil if meat sticks, until no longer pink. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry over moderate heat until very fragrant, about 2 minutes.
4. Finish stir-fry: Stir reserved sauce, then add to pork and bring to a simmer. Drain tofu in a large sieve and slide into sauce, stirring gently.
5. Stir cornstarch mixture and add to stir-fry. Bring to a boil, stirring gently, and cook until thickened and glossy, about 15 seconds.
6. Turn off heat and sprinkle with sesame oil, Sichuan-peppercorn powder to taste, and 2 tablespoons scallion. Stir once or twice, then serve sprinkled with remaining tablespoon scallion.