Ma Po Tofu {or, what to do with pork mince}11

Posted on April 19, 2012 by ChristieDinner Time

Twitter is awesome. Can I just say that?

Last week I had some pork mince in the fridge and absolutely no inspiration for what to cook with it.

Enter Twitter. Or more accurately, friends on Twitter. A few minutes after my tweet went out, I got more than ten responses with ideas.

This was my tweet:

This was the response:

Pretty amazing, huh?

As you can see, there was an overwhelming nod towards ma po tofu. A dish that I love, but had never made before. Sold! The lovely @SRKitchen even gave me a link to a Kylie Kwong recipe. Crowd sourcing had never been so easy!

There was just one small problem – I didn’t have all the ingredients – and it was too late to head out to the shops (with baby in tow). So I thanked everyone for their suggestions and promised to make it the next day. And I did.

Kylie Kwong’s recipe is great. I substituted a few ingredients that I didn’t have on hand or want to buy full bottles and I served it with a big bowl of stir fried gai larn (Chinese broccoli).

My only slight criticism is that it wasn’t spicy enough for my tastes. Next time I will leave some of the chilli seeds and maybe add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of chilli flakes. Other than that it was really delicious and I loved buying exotic ingredients that I haven’t cooked with before like salted black beans.

Actually, does anyone have a recipe that includes a large amount of salted black beans? I need to use up the rest of the packet!

Christie x

Ma Po Tofu

serves 4 when served with rice and greens
slightly adapted from this recipe

Chilli paste
1 large red chilli
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
½ teaspoon sichuan peppercorns
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Main Ingredients
300 g packet of silken tofu
2 tablespoons peanut oil
200g fatty pork mince ground pork
2½ cm piece of ginger, cut into thin strips
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salted black bean
¼ cup shao hsing wine
1 teaspoon kecap manis
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 cup water

1. First, make the chilli paste. Cut chilli in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds using a spoon. Finely dice chilli and pound to a fine paste with salt, chilli flakes and peppercorns using a mortar and pestle, blender or small food processor. Stir in vegetable oil and set aside.

2. Gently remove tofu from packet and invert onto a plate. Carefully cut into 20 cubes by cutting lengthways into four equal slices, then widthways into five slices, draining off any excess liquid.

3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a hot wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly. Add pork and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Remove pork with a slotted spoon and set aside.

4. Add chilli paste to wok with ginger, garlic and black beans, then reduce heat and stir-fry on low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

5. Return pork to wok with wine and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add kecap manis and sugar and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Pour in water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and carefully slide tofu into wok, gently separating the cubes as they fall into the pork mixture. Simmer, covered, for 3 minutes.

6. Spoon into shallow bowls to serve and accompany with rice and greens.

  • http://intolerantchef.blogspot.com/ InTolerantChef

    Oh this does sound delicious! I have been really digging tofu lately for some reason, but I agree that it doesn’t seem nearly spicy enough and more chillis are called for :)

  • http://www.thehungrynavigatrix.wordpress.com The Hungry Navigatrix

    Gosh that sounds delicious. I’m keen to give this one a try.
    (And yes, I’m a chilli nut too and will be adding more!)

  • Eha

    Shows where Oz food tastes have headed! Have a number of recipes for this but shall faithfully copy yours: just a tad different to the rest :) ! Did Poppy reach for it or pull her gorgeous face – methinks the former? Thanks!!

  • http://nevertoosweetforme.com Daisy@Nevertoosweet

    I totally agree that twitter is great! I love using it to ask questions hehe there will always be someone there to help answer your questions hehe u never use to like ma Po tofu but right now I m going through a tofu stage lol where I really like eating tofu hehe

  • Sheridan

    Thanks Christie. I have a packet of silken tofu in the fridge that now seems destined for Ma Po Tofu.

  • http://www.clairekcreations.com Claire @ Claire K Creations

    Yum yum yum! Oh how I love twitter. Helpful in any situation.

  • http://www.chompchomp.com.au Chompchomp

    Strange – I was only just thinking this morning of cooking a tofu recipie for dinner! Thanks!

  • http://www.notquitenigella.com Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

    My mum has heaps of salted black bean recipes! Remind me and I’ll get some for you ;)

  • http://www.eataussie.com.au Johanna

    Lovely Christie! Pork mince is not something I buy alot but will try this recipe. That’s amazing about your twitter response – It’s great that you displayed that in your post – very encouraging for novice twitter-ites! Cheers, Johanna.

  • http://tartineandapronstrings.com/ Jen L | Tartine and Apron Strings

    I grew up on this stuff! Yum! I do miss my Grandma’s version. Wish she was still here…

  • http://www.mykitchenstories.com.au tania@mykitchenstories

    What a great idea for pork mince…. so many lovely helpers

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