• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Devour.Asia

Devour.Asia

Better Asian recipes for home cooks

  • Recipes
    • Cuisine
      • Chinese
      • Japanese
      • Korean
      • Thai
      • Vietnamese
      • Taiwanese
      • Filipino
      • Indonesian
      • Malaysian
      • South Asian
      • Fusion
      • Street Food
    • Ingredient
      • Poultry
      • Seafood
      • Meat
      • Rice & Grains
      • Noodles
      • Vegetables
      • Tofu
      • Mushrooms
      • Bread
      • Eggs
      • Fruits
    • Course
      • Breakfast
      • Snacks
      • Salads
      • Soups
      • Main Courses
      • Side Dishes
      • Sweets
      • Drinks
  • Kitchen
  • Stories
  • Cuisine
    • Chinese
    • Japanese
    • Korean
    • Thai
    • Taiwanese
    • Filipino
    • Indonesian
    • Malaysian
    • South Asian
    • Fusion
  • Main Ingredient
    • Poultry
    • Seafood
    • Meat
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
      • Noodle Soups
      • Noodles Stir Fry
      • Instant Noodles (Ramen)
    • Vegetables
    • Mushrooms
    • Tofu
    • Bread
    • Eggs
    • Fruits
  • Course
    • Breakfast
    • Snacks
    • Salads
    • Soups
    • Main Courses
    • Side Dishes
    • Sweets
    • Drinks
  • Street Food
  • Kitchen Tales
  • Food Tales
  • About
  • Privacy
You are here: Home / All Recipes / Ma Po Tofu

Ma Po Tofu

The key to a delicious and authentic ma po tofu is to use the correct spices and seasonings. Sichuan peppercorns, doubanjiang (broad bean chili paste), fermented black beans, chili paste, garlic, ginger and soy sauce are essential ingredients.

Ma po tofu rice bowl

Yes, ma po tofu is a spicy dish which is characteristic of Sichuan cooking. Not only is there heat from the chilies in the doubanjiang and chili paste, there is also the numbing effect supplied by Sichuan peppercorns.

So, is that what the name translates to? Does ma po mean hot and spicy? Well, no. Ma means pockmarked and po is short for popo which means old woman. The dish we know today as ma po tofu is believed to have been invented in the late 1800s by a smallpox-scarred woman known as Mrs. Chen who cooked the dish at her family’s restaurant in Chengdu.

But don’t let the literal translation of the dish’s name form a bias in your mind. It’s delicious. The first time I had it at a Chinese restaurant, I was hooked, and I would look for it on the menu of almost every Chinese restaurant we ate in. Sadly, not all Chinese restaurants serve good ma po tofu. That was why I learned to cook it at home.

Ma Po Tofu

Recipe by Connie Veneracion
All the spices and seasonings required for cooking ma po tofu can be bought in Asian groceries. Note, however, that the saltiness of the condiments (the doubanjiang and black beans, especially) vary from brand to brand. So, you may need to use less salt, or add more salt, to get a good flavor balance.
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 25 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese, Sichuan
Servings 4 people
Ma po tofu garnished with scallions
Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 350-gram block silken tofu
  • salt
  • 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 250 grams ground pork
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
  • ½ teaspoon chopped ginger
  • 1 tablespoon doubanjiang (broad bean chili paste)
  • 1 tablespoon fermented black beans mashed and chopped
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon chili paste
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon potato starch or corn starch
  • sliced scallions to garnish

Instructions
 

Pre-cook the tofu

  • Cut the tofu into half-inch cubes.
  • Boil about four cups of water and stir in a teaspoon of salt.
    Cutting and boiling silken tofu in salted water
  • Slide the tofu cubes into the boiling salted water, wait for the water to boil again then count one minute to cook the tofu.
  • Drain the tofu and set aside.

Toast the Sichuan peppercorns

  • Spread the Sichuan peppercorns in an oil-free pan and toast until you can smell them.
    Toasting and grinding Sichuan peppercorns
  • Grind the Sichuan peppercorns until powdery.

Brown the ground pork

  • Heat the cooking oil in a wok.
  • Spread the ground pork in the hot oil, sprinkle in a teaspoon of salt and all of ground black pepper. Cook, stirring often, until lightly browned.
    Browning ground pork in wok
  • Scoop out the ground pork leaving behind the oil and rendered fat.

Saute the spices

  • Reheat the oil and fat in the wok.
  • Saute the garlic and ginger until aromatic.
    Sauteeing garlic and ginger in wok
  • Add the doubanjiang and continue sauteeing for about half a minute.
    Adding broad bean chili paste to garlic and ginger in wok
  • Add the fermented black beans and continue sauteeing until the solids start to separate from the oil.
    Sauteeing broad bean chili pasta and fermented balck beans

Cook your ma po tofu

  • Add the browned ground pork and stir to coat with the sauteed spices.
    Adding ground pork to spices in wok
  • Pour in the broth, stir and bring to a simmer.
    Pouring chicken broth into wok with ground pork and spices
  • Stir in the chili paste and sugar.
    Adding tofu to ground pork in wok to make ma po tofu
  • Add the drained tofu cubes and stir gently.
  • Sprinkle in half a teaspoon of the ground Sichuan peppercorns.
    Sprinkling grouns Sichuan peppercorns on ma po tofu in wok
  • Pour in the soy sauce.
  • Set the heat to low, cover the pan and simmer everything together for a few minutes.
  • Dissolve the starch a two tablespoons of water, pour into the pan and stir until no longer cloudy and the sauce is thick.
    Thickening ma po tofu sauce with potato starch
  • Ladle your ma po tofu into a serving bowl.
    Ma po tofu garnished with scallions
  • Sprinkle in the sliced scallions and serve your ma po tofu with rice.
Keyword Spicy, Tofu
More Chinese Food
Poached Chicken in Sichuan Chili Oil Sauce

Poached Chicken in Sichuan Chili Oil Sauce

Sichuan Shrimps with Plum Sauce

Sichuan Shrimps with Plum Sauce

Chicken liver stir fry with string beans, mushrooms and quail eggs

Chicken Liver Stir Fry

Published: June 11, 2021 • Last modified: October 14, 2021 ♥ All Recipes, Chinese, Main Courses, Meat, Tofu
Further Reading
Chinese-style fried rice in white ramekin

How To Cook Chinese-style Fried Rice

Fried and skewered quail eggs. Tamsui Old Street, Taiwan

Quail Eggs in Asian Cuisines

Mandarin oranges

Symbolic Food for the Lunar New Year

Sidebar

Experience Asia

Thai Hot and Sour Soup (Tom Saap) Garnished with Chili

Thai Hot and Sour Soup (Tom Saap)

Thai cucumber salad garnished with peanuts and cilantro

Thai Cucumber Salad with Sweet and Tangy Chili Dressing

Japanese sakura rice bowls

Two Reasons to Go Back to Japan

Sam Veneracion making pottery. Bat Trang Village, Vietnam.

The Authentic Bat Trang Ceramic Village Tour and Pottery Class

Thai meatballs in curry sauce

Thai-style Meatballs in Coconut Curry Sauce

  • About
  • Privacy
  • Archive

Inspiration

“A full belly conquers all.”

From the film Saving Face
Popular Posts
  • A Guide To Ramen Broth: Shio, Shoyu, Miso and Tonkotsu
  • 3 Soy Sauce Braised Pork Belly
  • Steamed Pompano With Ginger Sauce
  • Tofu in Oyster Sauce
  • Slow Cooker Chinese-style Beef Tendon
Not So Fine Print

Devour Asia does NOT work with “brands”.

Devour Asia does NOT accept guest posts.

Devour Asia does NOT outsource recipe development, writing, photography and videography.

Except for the occasional stock photo and blockquote, everything © Devour Asia. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.