Easy mapo tofu combines silky tofu with a flavorful sauce made with Sichuan chili oil. It’s quick and easy to prepare but big on flavor! The mapo tofu sauce is full of savory umami and spiciness that will make your tastebuds a bit tingly and numb!
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What is Mapo Tofu?
Traditional mapo tofu from Sichuan province is cooked with doubanjian (spicy soybean chili paste). For my version, we are using my uncle’s delicious recipe that is a combination of sichuan and cantonese flavors. Nevertheless, this mapo tofu has the perfect amount of spice, flavor, and that tingly feeling you are looking for!
Usually minced pork or minced beef is added, but I wanted to make a quicker and vegetarian version. This vegetarian mapo tofu is made with silky tofu cooked in a spicy and fragrant chili sauce. The dish is already so flavorful, you won’t even notice that meat was not added.
Why You Will Love This Easy Mapo Tofu Recipe
- Spicy and Numby Flavor. If you love spicy then this Mapo Tofu Vegetarian is for you!
- Quick and Easy. This dish goes together in just a handful of simple steps. It’s perfect for an easy weeknight dinner or quick lunch during the week.
- Meatless Dish. This dish is a great way to skip the meat and not miss it. It’s packed with flavor and so good even your biggest meat eaters will love it.
Ingredients
In order to make a delicious vegetarian mapo tofu, make sure to use these following ingredients. Substitutions and different types of chili oil affects the saltiness level of this dish.
- Soft or Silken Tofu: This type of tofu is much more creamy and soft than firmer varieties of tofu. You can find it in the refrigerated section of many Asian markets or grocery stores but there is also a variety that is shelf-stable. If you have firm tofu on hand, I recommend making this Korean Braised Tofu (Dubu Jorim) instead!
- Oil: You can use any neutral oil such as avocado, vegetable, or canola oil.
- Chili Oil: This is an oil that’s been infused with the flavor of hot chilies. For the best flavor, I recommend using a sichuan chili oil for its authentic taste. This is important because the flavor of chili oil will greatly influence the taste of the dish. Therefore, if you use a sichuan chili oil, the dish will taste spicy, numby, and have loads of flavor.
- White onion: Dice the onion finely to ensure large pieces of onion don’t interfere with the texture of the tofu.
- Garlic cloves: Adds more intense aromatic flavors to the sauce.
- Sake: This dry rice wine adds flavor to the sauce but you can also use dry sherry with similar results.
- Oyster Sauce: This sauce is made from oysters. To keep it vegetarian, you will want to use a vegan oyster sauce or if it doesn’t matter a regular oyster sauce works too.
- Bouillon: You can use mushroom bouillon or chicken bouillon depending on whether or not you want to keep the dish vegetarian. It’s used to add more intense flavor than just water and both work great.
- Soy sauce: Adds more savory flavors to the mapo tofu sauce.
- Cornstarch slurry: Adding a mixture of cornstarch and water works to thicken the mapo tofu sauce. It’s mixed with water before adding it to the sauce to prevent clumping.
- Sichuan peppercorn oil: I also use a peppercorn oil for that extra numby and fragrant mala taste to the mapo tofu.
How to Make Mapo Tofu
Step 1. Cut the tofu into cubes. Also, dice the garlic and onion.
Step 2. Cook the tofu cubes in boiling water for two minutes or until you see small bubbles. Strain the tofu and set it aside. This step helps get rid of any unwanted soybean or refrigerated flavor for a cleaner taste.
Step 3. Make the cornstarch slurry by mixing a quarter cup of water with two teaspoons cornstarch and set aside.
Step 4. Heat a large pot or wok. Add the oil, then add the diced onions and garlic to the pot. Saute for 1-2 minutes or until the garlic is golden.
Step 5. Add the sake to the pot and 1.5 cups of water.
Step 6. Next, add the oyster sauce, more chili oil, bouillon, and soy sauce. Mix together and cook for one minute.
Step 7. Gently add tofu to the pot and gently mix everything together.
Step 8. Add the cornstarch slurry. Make sure to give it a stir before adding to the pot. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
Step 9. Finish off your mapo tofu with more sichuan peppercorn oil if you love that mala numbing taste! ◡̈ Enjoy this delicious mapo sauce and silky tofu with a bowl of rice!
Expert Tips
- Boil the tofu: This step is important to remove some of the soybean or odd flavors in the tofu. The flavor is much cleaner. Don’t forget to strain it well to remove all the liquid.
- Use a good sichuan chili oil! The flavor of this dish is spicy, earthy, and slightly numby from the sichuan peppercorns.
- Use the right tofu. Silken or soft tofu is great for this dish compared to firm tofu. I prefer the texture of the dish to be silky and smooth.
- Storing: Store leftovers in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat your leftovers in a skillet before enjoying them with another serving of white rice.
- Mapo Tofu With Pork: The classic authentic version of this recipe is made with minced pork. If you want to make it this way cook the ¼ pound ground pork with the onions and garlic, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks and browns. Feel free to add more chili oil and some more sauce to ensure this dish is still flavorful!
Recipe FAQs
Eat the mapo tofu with white rice and I assure you will be making this once a week. The white rice is great to soak up the sauce but also balances the spiciness a bit. Enjoy it with a quick and easy vegetable side dish like this stir fried cabbage, Chinese green beans, or turnip cake. You might even start things off with a bowl of hot and sour soup or kimchi cheese rice balls.
No, it’s usually made with minced pork but I’ve kept this recipe vegetarian to save time as well as keep it plant-based.
More Sichuan Inspired Dishes
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Easy Mapo Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 box soft tofu cut in cubes
- 4 cups water to boil tofu and strain water
Mapo Tofu Sauce
- ½ tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
- ½ tablespoon chili oil
- ½ white onion minced
- 4 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon sake or dry sherry optional
- 1½ cup water
- 1 tablespoons oyster sauce or vegan oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili oil I recommend a scihuan chili oil
- ½ tablespoon mushroom bouillon or chicken bouillon
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- cornstarch slurry 2 teaspoon corn starch + ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon sichuan peppercorn oil optional
Instructions
- Cut the tofu into cubes. Also, dice the garlic and onion.
- Cook the tofu cubes in boiling water for two minutes or until you see small bubbles. Strain the tofu and set it aside. This step helps get rid of any unwanted soybean or refrigerated flavor for a cleaner taste.
- Make the cornstarch slurry by mixing ¼ cup water with 2 teaspoons corn starch and set aside.
- Heat a large pot or wok. Add the oil, then add the diced onions and garlic to the pot. Saute for 1-2 minutes or until the garlic is golden.
- Add the sake to the pot and 1 ½ cup of water.
- Next, add the oyster sauce, more chili oil, bouillon, and soy sauce. Mix together and cook for one minute.
- Gently add tofu to the pot and gently mix everything together.
- Add the corn starch slurry. Make sure to give it a stir before adding to the pot. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Finish off with 1 teaspoon sichuan peppercorn oil if you love that mala numbing taste ◡̈ Hope you enjoy!
Notes
- Boil the tofu: This step is important to remove some of the soybean or odd flavors in the tofu. The flavor is much cleaner. Don’t forget to strain it well to remove all the liquid.
- Use a good sichuan chili oil! The flavor of this dish is spicy, earthy, and slightly numby from the sichuan peppercorns.
- Use the right tofu. Silken or soft tofu is great for this dish compared to firm tofu. I prefer the texture of the dish to be silky and smooth.
- Storing: Store leftovers in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat your leftovers in a skillet before enjoying them with another serving of white rice.
- Mapo Tofu With Pork: The classic version of this recipe is made with minced pork. If you want to make it this way cook the ground pork onions and garlic, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks and browns.
Jacob Kelly says
So damn good, thanks for this one. My favorite whole in the wall noodle place in Hawaii had a mapo tofu udon and this is a perfect match to it.