Hey guys, we've had a couple people report issues with saltiness in our two recipes that call for doubanjiang (chili bean paste) - this and the Shuizhu. It always sucks to hear people having replication problems, and it's definitely our fault that we didn't go into this more. The unfortunate reality is that different brands of doubanjiang have different salinity - generally the less good ones are the ones that're really salty, which I imagine might be what you're buying if cooking this abroad. So before you get started cooking, first make sure that it's "Pixian" doubanjiang (the sort that's used in Sichuan cooking), and then - and I can't stress this enough - *taste your Doubanjiang*. If it's roughly as salty as soy sauce, you can use it as is in the recipe. If the doubanjiang's making your lips pucker, it's not ideal but you can still move forward. First, cut out the stock concentrate and just use plain water in the liquid. Second, cut your doubanjiang quantity from 1.5 tbsp to 1 tbsp. Apologies.
Hi Chris and Stephanie. This is for all the followers. In my culture that we have a salty recipe is synonymous with being in love :) After a while you know the ingredients of love and the balance arrives. The same with the food ingredients. It is a matter of cultivating our local relationship with food, that otherwise needs some time. :) You guys are doing a beautiful job. By the way, whats kind of nice black and white handel cleaver and knives do you use. They are local? They are carbon steel o stain steel made? It is possible to buy"? Pura vida, from Costa Rica
So our old knife (in this video) was a sort of garbage stainless steel knife but our new one is a handmade carbon steel one we grabbed from the market when a knife vendor was in town. As for knife recommendations, we're probably not the best people to ask because we've never bought one on Amazon :/ But if you're interested in this sort of Chinese chef's knife (love it BTW, so much less wrist motion than a Western chef's knife and can double as a cleaver in a pinch), the English name for it is either "vegetable cleaver" or "Chinese knife". The brand "Shun" is really famous, available abroad, but also quite pricey (one day we'll spring for one).
I came to the conclusion that there are at least two types of doubanjiang. Sichuanese doubanjiang as used in this recipe and north eastern doubanjiang which is black, not spicy but extremely salty. More like dajiang or huangdoujiang. That is sold in Chinese supermarkets in the UK and also labelled as "doubanjiang". I guess the key is the taste test if you're not familiar with all this but you can also tell by the colour. If you break down the word doubanjiang it just means beansauce or something so yeah thanks for clarifying it's the Sichuanese variety you need. I'm digging your video anyway and thanks. First of the bunch of Chinese recipes I searched on UA-cam that's actually decent.
Yeah that's right. In the written recipes I always write down 'Pixian Doubanjiang', which specifies the Sichuan version. That said, in English it's usually labeled as 'Chili Bean Paste' (or sauce), so that name should also get ya there.
As a man who grew up in Sichuan, it was really glad to see these recipes posted! A few advices for authentic Mapo Tofu. 1. Minced meat should be ground beef 2. Add some minced ginger, white scallion and fermented black beans(dou chi) after frying chili bean paste 3. Don't add all the slurry one time. Thicken it 3 times every a few seconds would make all the sauce stick to the Tofu. Hope to see more authentic Sichuan food!
So yeah, we know beef is like the super-traditional mince for this, but for us beef mince ends up sucking oil like a sponge, inhibiting the formation of the red oil. We've had one with pork in Chengdu, so figured it wouldn't be too much of an issue :). And yeah, maybe we shoulda used the 姜/葱/蒜 combo. I mean, with this flavor profile it really goes into the background so I don't think it's too much on an issue... but in our more recent videos we've really been making sure all the little details are more on point. Our wheelhouse is Cantonese food (Steph's from Guangzhou), so we've done a lot more research for the latest Sichuan food videos. Our 红油 recipe video was really great if I do say so myself lol 水煮牛肉 is coming up in two weeks time!
I'm just going through comments randomly, saw this, and thx for your advice! I can see you know your stuff :). I talked to an old Sichuan chef recently and the slurry thing is a new trick I learned from him! Another trick to avoid the beef soaking up the oil is to fry it up real dry to a point that it's almost crispy. Is that what you do too?
Thank you for the tip about the slurry. I had problems making the sauce stick to the tofu so i'll try to remember to use this method next time i cook it!
Helpful tip on the douchi ... will try that. As for beef ... ive always found that the hemaglobin in it turns the sauce from red to brown, and also makes the sauce taste murky ... esp if ground beef is used instead of mince. I will definitely give mince a try, and sauteeing til dryish, but in the meantime i like the redder color and cleaner flavor of using coarsely ground unseasoned pork sausage meat.
Too many people dont know how to use tofu. Dont grill it on the barby with salt and pepper and treat it like a steak, dont use it to substitute meat. It is supposed to take on the flavors that it is cooked with.
Right. I also hate its reputation as a 'health food' - one of the most basic and delicious ways to eat tofu's to panfry it in lard til crisp, kinda like in our Fried Tofu vid. It's a great ingredient, but I think people'd be better off thinking of it more like 'soft potato' and less like 'bland meat'.
Lionel Valdarant nope tempeh is absolutely NOT just a meat substitute. It’s a traditional Indonesian food product, so it’s annoying when people think of it simply as a meat sub. It certainly can be, but in Indonesian cuisine it’s also served fried along side meat dishes. It’s something many of us in Southeast Asia enjoy eating. Please don’t reduce it to “meat substitute”
So ingredient list if you're like me and might not have all this on hand. Cooking utensils: Wok, pot, sink. 0:25: Half a tablespoon of sichuan peppercorn(no substitute) 1:12: Crushed then minced Garlic(1 clove from the looks of it) 1:30: 1.5 tablespoons Douban(sometimes Touban)jiang aka chili bean paste 1:43: Minced Meat of some kind(I tend to make mapo tofu vegetarian) 1:53: Some kind of soup stock(The video has one tablespoon of concentrate diluted with 3/4 cups of water) 2:00: SOFT, not SILKEN tofu, half a block of supermarket tofu/230 grams, cubed 3:20: Tablespoon of Salt 3:54: Unprocessed Schezuan Canola Oil(or standard canola oil) 4:50: 1/4 to 2 teaspoons of some kind of chili power 5:10: One teaspoon soy sauce 5:11: One teaspoon Shaoxing Cooking Wine 5:14: One Teaspoon sugar 6:00: 1/4 teaspoon dark vinegar 6:08: Cornstarch Slurry(1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of water) 6:21: One teaspoon sesame oil
Silken works okay if you can't find soft. I can never find soft tofu. Silken is definitely preferable to the firm, extra firm, and lately even super firm varieties. But don't put it in water first. It has to go at the end.
As a Canadian with Chinese in-laws who really only like traditional Chinese dishes, your channel has been a godsend. I often refer to your videos for inspiration when they're coming by for a meal. This receipt was a huge winner with them and I'll definitely be making it again! 特别好吃！谢谢你们
Chinese Cooking Demystified I live in Ottawa but we have several options for Chinese grocery stores. Although you can find Asian grocery stores throughout Canada, Toronto and Vancouver definitely have the best Chinese grocery game by far. Keep up your amazing work and you're always welcome in Canada! :)
As an amateur, I made the mistake of cooking my Sichuan pepper and dried peppers in oil on high heat. Everyone in the house nearly died. (In case you don’t know what happens, it put everyone in a non-stop, painful coughing fit)
That was caused by the dried red pepper, not the Sichuan pepper, which is not a chili pepper, not picante at all. You can simply add cayenne powder after everything else is in the pot. Not only will you avoid the choking on chili smoke, but also you eliminate the seeds. For that matter, you can buy Sichuan pepper powder at Asian grocers and add that after all the rest is in the pot.
High heat burns the chilies and destroys the fruity complexity. I go to the opposite extreme when making infused chili oil ... i'll mince up all my dried chilies (with seeds) ... mostly regular chilies with some kashmiri for extra color ... then add them to my saucepan of oil along with sichuan peppercorns, a curl of cinnamon, a pod of star anise, and a crushed clove of garlic, i'll raise it briefly to 185F to kill any microbes then shut it off and infuse it overnight in my digital dehydrator at about 130F .. then strain out and discard the solids, then press the oil through a large paper coffee filter (bunn) to fully clarify it. Then i'll add my finishing spices and minced nuts (which stay in) and infuse AGAIN, then store it in a 24 fl oz wide mouth jar in the fridge. Awesome stuff ... very deep flavor and clean color. Amazing over homemade noodles and dumplings. Deep red instead of brown.
TIP: Hey guys, I adore mapodoufu and make it semi regularly (eating some now in fact). I have a tip to share on accompaniments ... I love to serve peeled julienne of cold raw APPLE on the side. The cold crunchy bright sweetness of apple is IMO a perfect and refreshing counterpoint pairing with the hot spicy funky oily softness of this dish, in much the same way that pickled ginger makes a great side for sushi. My personal favorite variety is honeycrisp, followed by fuji, gala, ambrosia, pink lady, or korean pear. If apples are out of season, or if I dont have one handy, some quickly pickled (1-4 hr half sour half sweet) julienne of jicama, cucumber or the white inner rind of watermelon also can work in the same role. Give it a try 😁
@@joddle23 No need to wait for learning mapodoudmfu - It's a great counterpoint to any hot spicy oily dish, be it classic chili or southern indian vindaloo.
@@SpacemanXC It's a suggested side accompaniment, not an ingredient for the dish itself silly. Gotta work on that reading comprehension and those social skills, bud, if you hope to get anywhere in life. Muted.
We've been making this recipe increasingly often. Shot right up to my personal top 10, along with spaghetti al ragù. Chinese cooking is a true gift to the world heritage. Thank you, CMD!
We're vegetarians, so we used shiitakes instead of pork to get that meaty umami flavor. We also used some smoked chili powder from my hometown in the southwest and it made it taste even more amazing!
@@briantaulbee5744 I love vegan food, but if you put chickpeas in my tofu dish I'm going to punch you in the face. I'd go shiitake and defiinitely some wood ear mushrooms. Mushrooms are hands down some of the best umami.
i tried mapo tofu when I went to an asian cuisine restaurant for the first time. It was honestly one of the best things ive ever eaten, I'm definitely going to try and replicate this!
This is a simple way of cooking mapo tofu. This was similar to how my mum used to cook it. It's delicious. My mum used pork instead of beef because she's a Buddhist. Nice recipes! Reminded me of my mum.
Way late to the party here, but I just made this this evening using your methods as a guide and it turned out fantastic. Very remenicent of the dishes I have had at various Sichuan restaurants around the Seattle area. I really appreciate these clear and well described recipes and techniques and hope to use more of these as I expand my attempts at Chinese cuisine.
Yeah, one of our pet peeves is many people's insistence that some sort of airplane-jet-engine-stove is required to make good Chinese food. Our little burner there is 9000 BTUs... the standard for Western stoves is 7000 iirc. That difference is slightly noticeable but largely negligible. At our local market in Shenzhen, the market workers generally all cook their own lunches, but gas isn't allowed and they gotta fry on wimpy little electric hotplates... and those lunches always look damn good :) The problem I see with many online recipes in the West for Chinese food is almost never equipment, but rather head-scratching ingredients and improper technique.
This recipe is my biggest cooking flex with my partner, by FAR. Turns out great every time. Such a clear recipe with great shots showing the process. I love this channel.
I usually do a low fry of the pepper corns and then there is a mala flavor in an oil base. The pepper corns can then be smashed. But if you are truly Szechuan, you can reintroduce it later as whole with maybe some rough cuts. I also like to put in ginger. Really enjoy this video.
I've made this many times over the past few years, but today, I finally replicated it exactly. It was heaven. So flavorful. Disabling levels of spicy goodness. Thank you!
Lol listening to you in these older videos compared to now. You’re so much more fluent and confident now. Still these recipes made me a much better chef. Thanks guys
I have made this recipe a few times now and have to say it has become a go to. Love the channel, all the detail in the reddit recipes and so glad you're still making videos after leaving China.
Cooked this recipe last night and it was absolutely awesome, feel like cooking and eating it again this morning👍 I lived in China previously for ten years in the southern city of Dongguan where I would occasionally try mapo doufu in various restaurants and eateries. They were OK but I suspected they were pale imitations for non-Sichanese Chinese consumption. The mapo doufu on your video was much better than anything I ate in Dongguan😊
I have tried at least 6 other "authentic" Mapo Tofu recipes... They've all been more or less rubbish... THIS. WAS. SENSATIONAL!!!! I was slightly concerned that 2 tablespoons of chilli flakes might be too hot for me so I used 1 this time but would bump it up next time. Other than that I made it exactly as per the recipe. I got the sexy red oil. It has sensational depth of flavour. I'd probably just use water instead of stock next time, it was just a smidgen salty for me. I'm so happy and can't wait until I can have visitors to make it for them. Thank you so much for all your excellent directions! 💜
I've recently found your channel and been making several of your dishes as I learn how to properly make Eastern dishes. I have to say, this might be the best thing I've ever made. Thank you so much for putting these things out there!
Wow, has it really been five years since I first saw this video and you guys started rocking my world with authentic Chinese cooking? So good to revisit a classic. I have been making this since I first saw that video, with the addition of douchi, ginger and scallion white being my only spin based on a comment I saw from someone from Sichuan. Keep being awesome guys!.
Did not know about roasting the szechuan pepper or parboiling the tofu, and never heard of the funky Chinese canola which i will definitely look for. Love this channel!
Hey so I had an epiphany: 'unrefined oil' = 'extra virgin'. Duh. Given that Canada is one of the largest producers of rapeseed, there seem to be a couple specialty suppliers that sell 'extra virgin canola oil'. I have no idea if it's actually the same thing, but it seems like the best lead. Here's two suppliers I found from a quick googling: xvcanolaoil.com/ www.brulecreekfarms.ca/extra-virgin-canola-oil/ If it works, someone should let them know lol, as they'd be sitting on a product that is (1) largely unavailable in the US and (2) one of the key ingredients to authentic Sichuan food... but are marketing it instead as a health food.
I love mapo tofu. You could call it a love affair. It dates all the way back to June 15th 2015, at a convenience store in Taoyuan, Taiwan. And that was the crappy version. But still good. I was hooked. Needed more. So I got more. And more after that. And now that I’ve been out of Asia for 9 months, I’m missing it like aaahhh 🤤🤤
Made this today for the first time and it's my favorite Chinese recipe I've made so far. So flavorful and distinct. Thanks so much guys, loving your channel and recipes.
I live in Zhuhai and this is one of my favorites. glad to see you showing genuine chinese dishes here, i was trying to figure out the recipes on my own with little success
Kudos to the lady chef!❤ The Mapo Daofu dishe the young lady made is the real thing; the original Szechuan Mapo Daofu. 👍👍👍 And kudos to the wonderful narrator, great voice and clarity.
I tried your recipe yesterday evening and it‘s amazing! It really worked well, although I could not find the exact same Tofu in our german Supermarkets. It still tasted soo good 😍😍 My favourit dish ever!
Hey Chris ! I have been making your version of mapu tofu for a year now. It always comes out great and is quite a hit when we invite guests over. I always recommend your video if someone asks for the recipe. Thank you bud.
Cheers, glad you've been liking the recipe :) Have you checked out the second Mapo Tofu video we put out? There's some alterations you may or may not be interested in ua-cam.com/video/AujuLHK3hvs/v-deo.html
I have tried several recipes (also from YT), and I dare to say, this one really surprise myself! So packed with flavour yet very easy on palate! Thank you very much for this recipe!
I've been gearing up to try making a 'hot and sour' soup. It's my favourite thing in our Canadian versions of Chinese restaurants. Any advice, or a video, maybe?
I dare say that yours/now mine tastes better than any I've had in restaurants. Much more subtle balancing of the flavors. Too often, my tongue is assaulted by too much Szechuan peppercorns, chili, or salt. This is perfect. I bought the Doubanjiang at Mala Market. Fantastic recipe.
I just finished making your recipe and omg I'm in love. I had to use regular canola oil and I didn't have pork mince so I minced up some bacon and used that. The bacon made it slightly over salted but not enough to ruin it. I'll use regular pork mince next time. Oh since you noted the color of the oil you were using I added a dash of Turmeric to the mince to at least get the color right. It was super simple and really really good. Thank you!
I try to follow your recipe as closely as I can and it turns out so delicious! Thank you for the amazing recipe! Also if you're taking recipe request, can you make a video on how to cook 麻辣干锅？I love 麻辣！！
Just made this and it's DIVINE. I didn't have pork mince but i did have leftover gammon haha, so i just used that to render some pork fat out. Thank you so much for all your incredible recipes.
Took me months to get Sichuan peppercorns and I bought the wrong kind of doubanjiang and it didn't turn too salty, added a bit more pork and doubled the serving size and it turned out great, though I had to use regular chili powder for now and coconut cooking oil's the only oil available at my house at the time. Rocking the tofu gently felt relaxing too, thanks for the vid 😃 Can't wait to try it with the correct bean paste, cooking oil and chili powder this time.
Admittedly guilty. I lived in Japan for a long while and I Mapodofu was probably my least favorite food because Japanese food is very mild, but after seeing it on shokugeki, and then seeing the rich red image used in this video and how similar it looks like in the show, it makes me want to try authentic sichuan style
Haha just watched the Mapo Tofu clip from that show (still on season 1)... if you want it to be spicy like that, lean towards the upper end of that half-to-two tsp chili powder that we called for. And make sure you're using a nice quality powder... US cayenne can sometimes be a bit tame if it's been on the shelf for a while :) Mapo tofu isn't usually that spicy of a dish, I'd say (as someone w/ heat tolerance) it's roughly 'medium'. In the video they talks about how "Guizhou people fear food that isn't spicy enough" (classic saying btw)... THAT cuisine's absolutely incredible and can be set-your-mouth-on-fire spicy
Cheers, has there been part of any video you've found confusing at all? Recently I've tried to improve the pacing of the videos... it's always this tug and pull between getting into the nitty-gritty and keeping the video moving :)
The video is easy to follow, thank you. I live in a smaller city in the US and had access to only a mediocre doubanjiang, which definitely is salty, but overall this came out great. I was making a vegetarian version of the dish but didn't want to just ignore the pork, so I used about 1/2 cup of smoked jackfruit made by The Jackfruit Company. It is the least flavored of their products and actually made a fantastic addition. Some recipes use mushrooms but that would definitely interfere with the flavor more.
Made this this week, and veganised it with some vegan mince we had and wow, this recipe is perfect. Really tasted like eating in China, at a time where I'm really missing travelling in China. Thank you!
Hey guys, we've had a couple people report issues with saltiness in our two recipes that call for doubanjiang (chili bean paste) - this and the Shuizhu. It always sucks to hear people having replication problems, and it's definitely our fault that we didn't go into this more. The unfortunate reality is that different brands of doubanjiang have different salinity - generally the less good ones are the ones that're really salty, which I imagine might be what you're buying if cooking this abroad. So before you get started cooking, first make sure that it's "Pixian" doubanjiang (the sort that's used in Sichuan cooking), and then - and I can't stress this enough - *taste your Doubanjiang*. If it's roughly as salty as soy sauce, you can use it as is in the recipe.
If the doubanjiang's making your lips pucker, it's not ideal but you can still move forward. First, cut out the stock concentrate and just use plain water in the liquid. Second, cut your doubanjiang quantity from 1.5 tbsp to 1 tbsp.
Apologies.
Hi Chris and Stephanie.
This is for all the followers. In my culture that we have a salty recipe is synonymous with being in love :) After a while you know the ingredients of love and the balance arrives. The same with the food ingredients. It is a matter of cultivating our local relationship with food, that otherwise needs some time. :)
You guys are doing a beautiful job.
By the way, whats kind of nice black and white handel cleaver and knives do you use. They are local? They are carbon steel o stain steel made? It is possible to buy"?
Pura vida, from Costa Rica
So our old knife (in this video) was a sort of garbage stainless steel knife but our new one is a handmade carbon steel one we grabbed from the market when a knife vendor was in town.
As for knife recommendations, we're probably not the best people to ask because we've never bought one on Amazon :/ But if you're interested in this sort of Chinese chef's knife (love it BTW, so much less wrist motion than a Western chef's knife and can double as a cleaver in a pinch), the English name for it is either "vegetable cleaver" or "Chinese knife". The brand "Shun" is really famous, available abroad, but also quite pricey (one day we'll spring for one).
I came to the conclusion that there are at least two types of doubanjiang. Sichuanese doubanjiang as used in this recipe and north eastern doubanjiang which is black, not spicy but extremely salty. More like dajiang or huangdoujiang. That is sold in Chinese supermarkets in the UK and also labelled as "doubanjiang". I guess the key is the taste test if you're not familiar with all this but you can also tell by the colour. If you break down the word doubanjiang it just means beansauce or something so yeah thanks for clarifying it's the Sichuanese variety you need.
I'm digging your video anyway and thanks. First of the bunch of Chinese recipes I searched on UA-cam that's actually decent.
Yeah that's right. In the written recipes I always write down 'Pixian Doubanjiang', which specifies the Sichuan version. That said, in English it's usually labeled as 'Chili Bean Paste' (or sauce), so that name should also get ya there.
Chinese Cooking Demystified kings h Discard
As a man who grew up in Sichuan, it was really glad to see these recipes posted! A few advices for authentic Mapo Tofu. 1. Minced meat should be ground beef 2. Add some minced ginger, white scallion and fermented black beans(dou chi) after frying chili bean paste 3. Don't add all the slurry one time. Thicken it 3 times every a few seconds would make all the sauce stick to the Tofu. Hope to see more authentic Sichuan food!
So yeah, we know beef is like the super-traditional mince for this, but for us beef mince ends up sucking oil like a sponge, inhibiting the formation of the red oil. We've had one with pork in Chengdu, so figured it wouldn't be too much of an issue :).
And yeah, maybe we shoulda used the 姜/葱/蒜 combo. I mean, with this flavor profile it really goes into the background so I don't think it's too much on an issue... but in our more recent videos we've really been making sure all the little details are more on point. Our wheelhouse is Cantonese food (Steph's from Guangzhou), so we've done a lot more research for the latest Sichuan food videos. Our 红油 recipe video was really great if I do say so myself lol
水煮牛肉 is coming up in two weeks time!
I'm just going through comments randomly, saw this, and thx for your advice! I can see you know your stuff :). I talked to an old Sichuan chef recently and the slurry thing is a new trick I learned from him! Another trick to avoid the beef soaking up the oil is to fry it up real dry to a point that it's almost crispy. Is that what you do too?
@Tiger, " it was really glad"???
Thank you for the tip about the slurry. I had problems making the sauce stick to the tofu so i'll try to remember to use this method next time i cook it!
Helpful tip on the douchi ... will try that. As for beef ... ive always found that the hemaglobin in it turns the sauce from red to brown, and also makes the sauce taste murky ... esp if ground beef is used instead of mince. I will definitely give mince a try, and sauteeing til dryish, but in the meantime i like the redder color and cleaner flavor of using coarsely ground unseasoned pork sausage meat.
Too many people dont know how to use tofu. Dont grill it on the barby with salt and pepper and treat it like a steak, dont use it to substitute meat. It is supposed to take on the flavors that it is cooked with.
Right. I also hate its reputation as a 'health food' - one of the most basic and delicious ways to eat tofu's to panfry it in lard til crisp, kinda like in our Fried Tofu vid. It's a great ingredient, but I think people'd be better off thinking of it more like 'soft potato' and less like 'bland meat'.
Tempe is the real meat substitute
@@ChineseCookingDemystified " I also hate its reputation as a 'health food' " So, tofu is unhealthy now? -_-
It's just food! It's not "health food",it's not poison! Eat it and enjoy it like any other food.
Lionel Valdarant nope tempeh is absolutely NOT just a meat substitute. It’s a traditional Indonesian food product, so it’s annoying when people think of it simply as a meat sub. It certainly can be, but in Indonesian cuisine it’s also served fried along side meat dishes. It’s something many of us in Southeast Asia enjoy eating. Please don’t reduce it to “meat substitute”
My Local Priest approves of this
Bruh Man
My local priest too but a blue hair guy with a spear killed him
@@sexymewtwo3737 i-
Has your local priest a basement full of half dead horribly burned bodys?
I would never share a meal with him.
@@sexymewtwo3737 is that? 😂😂😂
yorokobe shounen now we knew how to make kirei's favorite food
Yes rejoice
So ingredient list if you're like me and might not have all this on hand.
Cooking utensils: Wok, pot, sink.
0:25: Half a tablespoon of sichuan peppercorn(no substitute)
1:12: Crushed then minced Garlic(1 clove from the looks of it)
1:30: 1.5 tablespoons Douban(sometimes Touban)jiang aka chili bean paste
1:43: Minced Meat of some kind(I tend to make mapo tofu vegetarian)
1:53: Some kind of soup stock(The video has one tablespoon of concentrate diluted with 3/4 cups of water)
2:00: SOFT, not SILKEN tofu, half a block of supermarket tofu/230 grams, cubed
3:20: Tablespoon of Salt
3:54: Unprocessed Schezuan Canola Oil(or standard canola oil)
4:50: 1/4 to 2 teaspoons of some kind of chili power
5:10: One teaspoon soy sauce
5:11: One teaspoon Shaoxing Cooking Wine
5:14: One Teaspoon sugar
6:00: 1/4 teaspoon dark vinegar
6:08: Cornstarch Slurry(1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of water)
6:21: One teaspoon sesame oil
Thank you
Thank you bro
Silken works okay if you can't find soft. I can never find soft tofu. Silken is definitely preferable to the firm, extra firm, and lately even super firm varieties. But don't put it in water first. It has to go at the end.
Thanks man!!!!
Good eye, cowboy 👀
As a Canadian with Chinese in-laws who really only like traditional Chinese dishes, your channel has been a godsend. I often refer to your videos for inspiration when they're coming by for a meal. This receipt was a huge winner with them and I'll definitely be making it again! 特别好吃！谢谢你们
*recipe
Cheers, glad you all enjoyed it! Where you based out of in Canada? I've heard the Chinese supermarket game's pretty strong in Toronto :)
Chinese Cooking Demystified I live in Ottawa but we have several options for Chinese grocery stores. Although you can find Asian grocery stores throughout Canada, Toronto and Vancouver definitely have the best Chinese grocery game by far. Keep up your amazing work and you're always welcome in Canada! :)
Bullshit. Learn from the Sichuan Masters instead.
As an amateur, I made the mistake of cooking my Sichuan pepper and dried peppers in oil on high heat. Everyone in the house nearly died. (In case you don’t know what happens, it put everyone in a non-stop, painful coughing fit)
Linda Elvenia lol...I did that too...But I'm home alone tho haha
That was caused by the dried red pepper, not the Sichuan pepper, which is not a chili pepper, not picante at all. You can simply add cayenne powder after everything else is in the pot. Not only will you avoid the choking on chili smoke, but also you eliminate the seeds. For that matter, you can buy Sichuan pepper powder at Asian grocers and add that after all the rest is in the pot.
Adrind Azril Why i no cough?
Adrind Amri because you're a bitch
High heat burns the chilies and destroys the fruity complexity. I go to the opposite extreme when making infused chili oil ... i'll mince up all my dried chilies (with seeds) ... mostly regular chilies with some kashmiri for extra color ... then add them to my saucepan of oil along with sichuan peppercorns, a curl of cinnamon, a pod of star anise, and a crushed clove of garlic, i'll raise it briefly to 185F to kill any microbes then shut it off and infuse it overnight in my digital dehydrator at about 130F
.. then strain out and discard the solids, then press the oil through a large paper coffee filter (bunn) to fully clarify it. Then i'll add my finishing spices and minced nuts (which stay in) and infuse AGAIN, then store it in a 24 fl oz wide mouth jar in the fridge. Awesome stuff ... very deep flavor and clean color. Amazing over homemade noodles and dumplings. Deep red instead of brown.
TIP: Hey guys, I adore mapodoufu and make it semi regularly (eating some now in fact). I have a tip to share on accompaniments ... I love to serve peeled julienne of cold raw APPLE on the side. The cold crunchy bright sweetness of apple is IMO a perfect and refreshing counterpoint pairing with the hot spicy funky oily softness of this dish, in much the same way that pickled ginger makes a great side for sushi.
My personal favorite variety is honeycrisp, followed by fuji, gala, ambrosia, pink lady, or korean pear. If apples are out of season, or if I dont have one handy, some quickly pickled (1-4 hr half sour half sweet) julienne of jicama, cucumber or the white inner rind of watermelon also can work in the same role.
Give it a try 😁
That is a tip I would have never expected to hear but it makes sense! I'll try it too... once i can make a decent mapo tofu
@@joddle23 No need to wait for learning mapodoudmfu - It's a great counterpoint to any hot spicy oily dish, be it classic chili or southern indian vindaloo.
@@SpacemanXC It's a suggested side accompaniment, not an ingredient for the dish itself silly.
Gotta work on that reading comprehension and those social skills, bud, if you hope to get anywhere in life.
Muted.
@@RovingPunster I already deleted my comment after I realized I read it wrong. Sorry, English isn't my first language.
@@RovingPunsterbro English is his/her second language it was just a small kistake
The mapo tofu Kirei loves looked appetizing to me, which is why I am here so I can make it
Yorokobe shounen
Kirei Kotomine liked this video
Nazarick Graveyard as enemy i approved this
REJOICE!
MONGREL
Fate Grand Order also brought me here.
YOROKOBE SHOUNEN
We've been making this recipe increasingly often. Shot right up to my personal top 10, along with spaghetti al ragù. Chinese cooking is a true gift to the world heritage. Thank you, CMD!
We're vegetarians, so we used shiitakes instead of pork to get that meaty umami flavor. We also used some smoked chili powder from my hometown in the southwest and it made it taste even more amazing!
Shiitake mushrooms are the SSR when eating Vegan food
I thought vegetarians ate grass and tree leaves exclusively?
You can also try a combination of shiitake mushrooms and chickpeas.
@@someguyontheinternet2399 0
@@briantaulbee5744 I love vegan food, but if you put chickpeas in my tofu dish I'm going to punch you in the face. I'd go shiitake and defiinitely some wood ear mushrooms. Mushrooms are hands down some of the best umami.
I've got so many Mapo Tofu in FGO that I am sick of it. I came to this cooking video just to write this.
How bout black keys?
Your profile picture is upper moon 2 douma right
@@Human-js1ff yes
I am vegan and made this with the same amount of ground "beef" crumbles instead of mince and it turned out FANTASTIC. Thank you for this recipe
i like to mince seitan and mushrooms
I really like dried shitake for this recipe to veganize it
Please don't stop making these! I miss Sichuan/Chinese food so much after moving away from HK.
Why don't you give it a shot and make it like they do in the video? Looks easy. I'm gonna try it tonight!
i tried mapo tofu when I went to an asian cuisine restaurant for the first time. It was honestly one of the best things ive ever eaten, I'm definitely going to try and replicate this!
Make sure to go to restaurants specializing in Sichuan cuisine. You may come across inauthentic Sichuan food even in China. 😄
This is a simple way of cooking mapo tofu. This was similar to how my mum used to cook it. It's delicious. My mum used pork instead of beef because she's a Buddhist. Nice recipes! Reminded me of my mum.
Buddhists eat pork?
@@keppela1 A few of Chinese women didn't eat beef for respecting the Guan Yin Goddess.
Way late to the party here, but I just made this this evening using your methods as a guide and it turned out fantastic. Very remenicent of the dishes I have had at various Sichuan restaurants around the Seattle area. I really appreciate these clear and well described recipes and techniques and hope to use more of these as I expand my attempts at Chinese cuisine.
Finally someone has shared wok recipes that aren't always high cooking temp. Thank you.
Yeah, one of our pet peeves is many people's insistence that some sort of airplane-jet-engine-stove is required to make good Chinese food. Our little burner there is 9000 BTUs... the standard for Western stoves is 7000 iirc. That difference is slightly noticeable but largely negligible. At our local market in Shenzhen, the market workers generally all cook their own lunches, but gas isn't allowed and they gotta fry on wimpy little electric hotplates... and those lunches always look damn good :)
The problem I see with many online recipes in the West for Chinese food is almost never equipment, but rather head-scratching ingredients and improper technique.
Chris, you are doing more good for the world than the entire U.S. Congress. Thanks.
Kotomine would be proud
Came here from Heavens Feel.
Watching Kirei unbutton his coat bc it was too spicy 😩👌
Yorokobe Shounen
cris I’m here from angel beats
Yes Kirei of course that priest
Delicious.....
Kotomine approves.
VALID
YOROKOBE
@@tamayoki7537 SHOUNEN
YOROKOBE SHONEN, KIMI NO NEGAI WA YOUYAKU KANAU!
Nani??????
This recipe is my biggest cooking flex with my partner, by FAR. Turns out great every time. Such a clear recipe with great shots showing the process. I love this channel.
Yorokobe shounen.
I tried it last night and it was just amazing. I followed the recipe from A to Z, but added a tad more minced beef! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I usually do a low fry of the pepper corns and then there is a mala flavor in an oil base. The pepper corns can then be smashed. But if you are truly Szechuan, you can reintroduce it later as whole with maybe some rough cuts. I also like to put in ginger. Really enjoy this video.
I've made this many times over the past few years, but today, I finally replicated it exactly. It was heaven. So flavorful. Disabling levels of spicy goodness. Thank you!
Why this video has spawned in my home after I rolled for Maid Alter getting only this spicy shit?
Lol listening to you in these older videos compared to now.
You’re so much more fluent and confident now.
Still these recipes made me a much better chef.
Thanks guys
Finally I serve my priest his favorite meal
I have made this recipe a few times now and have to say it has become a go to. Love the channel, all the detail in the reddit recipes and so glad you're still making videos after leaving China.
Cooked this recipe last night and it was absolutely awesome, feel like cooking and eating it again this morning👍
I lived in China previously for ten years in the southern city of Dongguan where I would occasionally try mapo doufu in various restaurants and eateries. They were OK but I suspected they were pale imitations for non-Sichanese Chinese consumption. The mapo doufu on your video was much better than anything I ate in Dongguan😊
I have tried at least 6 other "authentic" Mapo Tofu recipes... They've all been more or less rubbish... THIS. WAS. SENSATIONAL!!!!
I was slightly concerned that 2 tablespoons of chilli flakes might be too hot for me so I used 1 this time but would bump it up next time. Other than that I made it exactly as per the recipe. I got the sexy red oil. It has sensational depth of flavour. I'd probably just use water instead of stock next time, it was just a smidgen salty for me. I'm so happy and can't wait until I can have visitors to make it for them. Thank you so much for all your excellent directions! 💜
I've had a vegetarian version of this at a monastery restaurant - one of my favorites that's hard to find stateside
I've recently found your channel and been making several of your dishes as I learn how to properly make Eastern dishes. I have to say, this might be the best thing I've ever made. Thank you so much for putting these things out there!
Yorokobe shounen. Kimi no negai wa youyaku kanau.
Wow, has it really been five years since I first saw this video and you guys started rocking my world with authentic Chinese cooking? So good to revisit a classic. I have been making this since I first saw that video, with the addition of douchi, ginger and scallion white being my only spin based on a comment I saw from someone from Sichuan. Keep being awesome guys!.
Extra Spicy
Yoroukube Shounen
Did not know about roasting the szechuan pepper or parboiling the tofu, and never heard of the funky Chinese canola which i will definitely look for. Love this channel!
Hey so I had an epiphany: 'unrefined oil' = 'extra virgin'. Duh. Given that Canada is one of the largest producers of rapeseed, there seem to be a couple specialty suppliers that sell 'extra virgin canola oil'. I have no idea if it's actually the same thing, but it seems like the best lead. Here's two suppliers I found from a quick googling:
xvcanolaoil.com/
www.brulecreekfarms.ca/extra-virgin-canola-oil/
If it works, someone should let them know lol, as they'd be sitting on a product that is (1) largely unavailable in the US and (2) one of the key ingredients to authentic Sichuan food... but are marketing it instead as a health food.
I love mapo tofu. You could call it a love affair. It dates all the way back to June 15th 2015, at a convenience store in Taoyuan, Taiwan. And that was the crappy version. But still good. I was hooked. Needed more. So I got more. And more after that. And now that I’ve been out of Asia for 9 months, I’m missing it like aaahhh 🤤🤤
A beer, a bowl of rice, and a dish of mapo tofu, mixed with netflix all to myself is all im living for
cooking master boy brought me here xixixixi ahh the memories
I just read so many recipes - all with slight differences. Yours seems to be the best of all of them. Gonna follow this for the most part.
Made this today for the first time and it's my favorite Chinese recipe I've made so far. So flavorful and distinct. Thanks so much guys, loving your channel and recipes.
I live in Zhuhai and this is one of my favorites. glad to see you showing genuine chinese dishes here, i was trying to figure out the recipes on my own with little success
So many good recipes on your channel, I've struck gold! Don't know how it never occurred to me to mince doubanjiang before now...
Mincing together with douchi is the way to go in my opinion. I rinse the douchi off in a sieve first.
@@lashlarue7924 I never rinced it before... liking it's outrageous salty side and cutting on adding salt. I'll try that too though.
This is my favorite channel in all of the interwebs.
Came here just to see all the Fate comments hahaha
All these "Yorokobe, shounen"'s are killing me xD
Kudos to the lady chef!❤ The Mapo Daofu dishe the young lady made is the real thing; the original Szechuan Mapo Daofu. 👍👍👍 And kudos to the wonderful narrator, great voice and clarity.
Kotomine brought me here
I tried your recipe yesterday evening and it‘s amazing! It really worked well, although I could not find the exact same Tofu in our german Supermarkets. It still tasted soo good 😍😍 My favourit dish ever!
We got the annoyed fed up Chris’ voice today 😄
Thanks to this video I've been making mapo tofu and I honestly like it a lot more than what I've had from restaurants where I live.
Kanade approve this
Hey Chris ! I have been making your version of mapu tofu for a year now. It always comes out great and is quite a hit when we invite guests over.
I always recommend your video if someone asks for the recipe. Thank you bud.
Cheers, glad you've been liking the recipe :) Have you checked out the second Mapo Tofu video we put out? There's some alterations you may or may not be interested in ua-cam.com/video/AujuLHK3hvs/v-deo.html
God bless this meal - Kotomine Kirei
I have tried several recipes (also from YT), and I dare to say, this one really surprise myself!
So packed with flavour yet very easy on palate!
Thank you very much for this recipe!
I've been gearing up to try making a 'hot and sour' soup. It's my favourite thing in our Canadian versions of Chinese restaurants. Any advice, or a video, maybe?
Cooked this last night. Great flavor and success! Thank you for this!
Tachibana Kanade liked this video.
Kirei Kotomine liked this video
I dare say that yours/now mine tastes better than any I've had in restaurants. Much more subtle balancing of the flavors. Too often, my tongue is assaulted by too much Szechuan peppercorns, chili, or salt. This is perfect. I bought the Doubanjiang at Mala Market. Fantastic recipe.
I just finished making your recipe and omg I'm in love. I had to use regular canola oil and I didn't have pork mince so I minced up some bacon and used that. The bacon made it slightly over salted but not enough to ruin it. I'll use regular pork mince next time. Oh since you noted the color of the oil you were using I added a dash of Turmeric to the mince to at least get the color right. It was super simple and really really good. Thank you!
YOROKOBE SHOUNEN
This is my favorite dish ever. I can eat three bowls of rice with this.
Nice recipe... and Bonus Points for attempting to eat this with a WHITE SHIRT on!!
I saw this meal on Angel Beats and one of the girl was OBSESSED with it, so I can't wait to try it myself :D
Yorokobe Shounen
I love it when it’s vegan. My only slight smirk with sezuchuan(?) pepper corn is that they have a highly distinct taste that I’m not always fond of.
So who else is here because of Fate Grand Order?
(The Mapo Tofu Craft Essence looks good.)
Taste like tears
I try to follow your recipe as closely as I can and it turns out so delicious! Thank you for the amazing recipe!
Also if you're taking recipe request, can you make a video on how to cook 麻辣干锅？I love 麻辣！！
Yorokobe Shounen!!
Rusli Dharmawan shj
Just made this and it's DIVINE. I didn't have pork mince but i did have leftover gammon haha, so i just used that to render some pork fat out. Thank you so much for all your incredible recipes.
Took me months to get Sichuan peppercorns and I bought the wrong kind of doubanjiang and it didn't turn too salty, added a bit more pork and doubled the serving size and it turned out great, though I had to use regular chili powder for now and coconut cooking oil's the only oil available at my house at the time.
Rocking the tofu gently felt relaxing too, thanks for the vid 😃
Can't wait to try it with the correct bean paste, cooking oil and chili powder this time.
What?
What am i?
What evil
what cruelty
This is my wish?
This destruction and tragedy?
This is my pleasure?
Reference of Fate zero's last episode, absolutely classic!
@@Eph_Inferno Fate always finds the Way~!
Loooooooove all the recipes which I have tried! Really good Chinese food has been super tuff in my new area thank GOD for this channel!
Yorokobe shounen
I like your style and your voice. It makes me feel calm
Just want to try cook and eat this because bakugo really like it
Hshshsjjxjsijxjejdh me toooooo😭😭😭😭😭😭
I can't forget the first time I tried mapo tofu. I didn't have an idea that tofu can be that delicious.
One of the best foods to come out of China. I ate mapo tofu in chengdu and it was so soft you had to eat it like ice cream
I wanted to make this because of a priest
The only legit reason to make this.
My local tenshi approved this
Who came here because of Shokugeki? LUL
Haha I'm not the biggest anime guy (only seen a few classics), but should I be watching Shokugeki?
Chinese Cooking Demystified Definitely! It's pretty hilarious too haha, just don't watch it at night when you are hungry ;)
lol just watched the first episode. after the opening scene. already knew it was a winner
Admittedly guilty.
I lived in Japan for a long while and I Mapodofu was probably my least favorite food because Japanese food is very mild, but after seeing it on shokugeki, and then seeing the rich red image used in this video and how similar it looks like in the show, it makes me want to try authentic sichuan style
Haha just watched the Mapo Tofu clip from that show (still on season 1)... if you want it to be spicy like that, lean towards the upper end of that half-to-two tsp chili powder that we called for. And make sure you're using a nice quality powder... US cayenne can sometimes be a bit tame if it's been on the shelf for a while :)
Mapo tofu isn't usually that spicy of a dish, I'd say (as someone w/ heat tolerance) it's roughly 'medium'. In the video they talks about how "Guizhou people fear food that isn't spicy enough" (classic saying btw)... THAT cuisine's absolutely incredible and can be set-your-mouth-on-fire spicy
Just wanted to say great channel and really appreciate the simple explanations and examples. Thanks again!
Cheers, has there been part of any video you've found confusing at all? Recently I've tried to improve the pacing of the videos... it's always this tug and pull between getting into the nitty-gritty and keeping the video moving :)
I'm curious - is there a way to prepare this dish without the meat? 😀
yes, but if going meatless and using vegetable stock, I recommend adding a pinch of MSG to amp up the umami. Otherwise it's really missing something.
Lol I was planning to make this until he added pork. Now I'm confused. 🤔
I've made this countless times, it's simply the BEST💖 THANK YOU
Yorokobe Shonen
This is the most easy Reciepe i could find easy to remamber and yummy
Yorokobe, shounen
The video is easy to follow, thank you. I live in a smaller city in the US and had access to only a mediocre doubanjiang, which definitely is salty, but overall this came out great. I was making a vegetarian version of the dish but didn't want to just ignore the pork, so I used about 1/2 cup of smoked jackfruit made by The Jackfruit Company. It is the least flavored of their products and actually made a fantastic addition. Some recipes use mushrooms but that would definitely interfere with the flavor more.
Great video. Easy to follow.
Thanks, hope you give it a try! After all that recipe testing I'd love to know if you guys can successfully replicate it :)
I made this tonight for dinner and it is delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Who come here from fate stay night heaven's feel?
Achillies me
Heaven's Feel? Try Angel Beats my dude
Bvlee100 this
I'm here because the Mapo Tofu Craft Essence in Fate Grand Order.
Made this this week, and veganised it with some vegan mince we had and wow, this recipe is perfect. Really tasted like eating in China, at a time where I'm really missing travelling in China. Thank you!
YOROKOBE SHONEN
Hey, remember me kirei?
Ya this is the best instructional video on the tubes. 💪🔥
why are you not using 豆豉, dòuchǐ in this?
Kills the spice and turns it too salty