Comments on: Mapo Tofu

By: Uncovering Japanese Cuisine: What is Washoku (和食)? - Rosetta Stone

Uncovering Japanese Cuisine: What is Washoku (和食)? - Rosetta Stone — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 17:00:14 +0000

[…] dōfu (麻婆豆腐): Known as “mapo tofu” in English, the original má pó dòufu comes from the Sichuan province of China, infamous for its mouth-numbingly spicy food! As Japanese people tend to be less-equipped […]

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 21:21:27 +0000

This is so good! Making your own chili oil is what pushes this dish over the top. So delicious, thank you!

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 13:53:03 +0000

Great recipe that comes together fast! I used the homemade chili oil from your excellent recipe on this site (it’s a staple in our home).
I’ve had trouble finding mapo tofu in my city for a reasonable price (a place with allegedly the best in the city charges $18 for it!!). Making it myself turned out delicious and the only bad news is that even just between my wife and I there were no leftovers. And it was better than most restaurant versions I’ve tried (or at least all that I could normally afford, ha!).
My tweaks since I’m not bound to authenticity:

– I used a fuIl pound of ground pork rather than try to store half the package away. Extra meaty! I cooked the whites of the scallions with the pork.
– I put a drizzle of low sodium soy sauce and Shiaoxing wine on the pork as it cooked for more flavorful meat. But did NOT salt!
– I used honey as a sweetener (I think something sweet is key to balance this so I don’t see the sugar/sweetener as optional)
– I added a splash (1-2 tsp?) of red wine vinegar; the dash of acidity help balance the oiliness and earthiness. (Chinese black vinegar would probably be better)

This was so delicious and satisfying to make (and eat!) and I can’t wait to make it again. :-)

By: Kaitlin

Kaitlin — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 04:34:31 +0000

In reply to Christine. Thank you, Christine! Yes, the spicy bean sauce makes all the difference!

By: Kaitlin

Kaitlin — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 04:33:30 +0000

In reply to Nady. Hi Nady—you are absolutely right—in the years since we posted this recipe we then developed our homemade chili oil recipe. It's definitely the preferred! We will adjust the phrasing to reflect that.

By: Kaitlin

Kaitlin — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 04:31:52 +0000

In reply to Todd. Hurrah!!! This is music to my ears, Todd! China is where we fell in love with mapo tofu. :)

By: Christine

Christine — Sat, 29 Mar 2025 23:43:49 +0000

Heaven! I waited for the spicy bean sauce you have on your ingredient list to arrive before making this and I am so glad I did. I had a restaurant version of mapo a couple days ago. Horrid-tofu swimming in brown sauce. Ugh. Your recipe is beyond amazing. So grateful. Will make all the other mapo’s on your site!

By: Nady

Nady — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 16:42:19 +0000

Kaitlin, thank you for this recipe. I tried it this week, and to be honest I was a little disappointed with the flavor. I re-read the recipe to see what went wrong, and I think it’s step 1. Just toasting the dried chilis and fresh chilis is not a substitute for the flavor complexity, color, and fragrance provided by pre-made chili oil. The recipe made it sound like they’re interchangeable, but I don’t think they are. Would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 20:14:15 +0000

In reply to Teresa.

Hi Teresa, try our vegetarian mapo tofu here: https://thewoksoflife.com/vegan-mapo-tofu/

By: Todd

Todd — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 23:20:33 +0000

Just got back from 2 weeks in China and wanted to recreate the mapo tofu we had there. This is it – definitely the real deal. 100% spot on in flavor and spice. I’ve already used this recipe 3 times in the 3 weeks we’ve been back.