Connoisseur Tom's Ma Po Tofu

Twas the day before St. Patrick’s and all through the house, no Irish heritage was found, so Connoisseur Tom gave up his lame attempt at poetry and set about how best to dispatch with his lingering hangover from the night before. Spicy food usually does the trick and, after appraising what I had to work with, I realized I had everything needed to make one of the tastiest Chinese dishes out there: Ma Po Tofu; Named after the pockmarked wife who is reportedly the creator of this spicy Sichuan favorite.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 quart of Chicken Broth (You’ll need some for the sauce and some for the rice)

2 Tbsp of Dark Soy Sauce (I used mushroom flavored soy because it delicious)

2 Tbsp of Hot Bean Paste (I used a broad bean and chili paste Javier left in my fridge)

1 Container of Firm Tofu (Mine was 14oz. but a full pound would be better)

¾ - 1 lb. Ground pork or beef (Pork is more authentic, but I only had beef)

4 cloves Garlic (Finely diced)

A 2-3 inch length of Ginger Root (Peeled and finely diced)

¼ cup Cornstarch Slurry (2 to 1 ratio of water to cornstarch)

2 cups Rice (I used Basmati rice, and it was awesome)

2 Tbsp Peanut Oil (If you can’t do the peanuts, use corn oil)

2 tsp Hot Sesame Oil

Salt to taste

White Pepper

A saucepan with 2 quarts of simmering water

First off, you’ll want to assemble the sauce. Combine ¼ cup of the chicken broth, the bean paste, and the soy sauce in a bowl and set it aside, you’ll need that later. Give this sauce a quick taste, it should be quite intense, but remember, its going to be flavoring the entire dish. Add a dash of salt if needs be.

Next, drain the tofu and cut it into ½ - 1 inch cubes and carefully slide them into the simmering water.

Poaching the tofu like this gives it an incredible texture, so leave it in there until I tell you.

Now would be a good time to start the rice. I don’t use a rice cooker because Jenny won’t let me get one, so I use the standard 2 to 1 ratio of liquid to rice on the stovetop. Pour 4 cups of chicken broth into a stock pot and bring it to a boil, add the rice, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, bring it back up to a boil and then kill the heat down to low. Keep an eye on this throughout the cooking process, stirring occasionally.

In the mean time, heat up your skillet with the peanut oil in it, then add the ground meat and break it up with your wooden spoon. Cook it until the meat is just about done, then add in the garlic and ginger, and let that go for another couple minutes.

Now add the sauce that you made at the beginning to the meat and bring that up to a simmer. Add in the cornstarch slurry, or at least some of it, to thicken the mixture a bit.

While the meat is coming to a simmer, take the tofu off the heat, drain it gently in a colander. By now the meat mixture should be simmering along happily, so carefully fold in the tofu, trying not to break the cubes.

Cook for another 30 seconds or so and take it off the heat.

Scoop out the rice onto your serving plate and top with the meat and tofu mixture, sprinkle on the hot sesame oil and a few shakes of white pepper. Serve it while its hot and you will not be let down.