Easy Sichuan Mapo Tofu / Spicy Tofu
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Tofu has been a frequent ingredient on my dinner table this year as I am trying to cut down my meat intake. And let me tell you that turning a block of flavorless tofu into a tasty meal is not always an easy task.
As my quest for good tofu recipes goes on, my number one tofu dish is still the classic Sichuan Mapo Tofu 麻婆豆腐 – you know, that fiery and tongue-numbering tofu dish that’s almost synonymous the best Chinese tofu dish!
While cooking Mapo Tofu or a more generic Sichuan spicy tofu dish is pretty straightforward, one can never refuse an even quicker way of making tasty tofu dishes at home.
At least I couldn’t. That’s why when the generous distributor at Sino-American Quality Food (SAQF) came to me for a Sichuan seasoning sampling gig, I gladly signed up! And the next thing I knew, a box full of seasoning and sauces from ZHOU JUN JI (周君记) was waiting for me to try!
If you love hot pot, you might have already seen ZHOU JUN JI seasoning in action from this simple Sichuan hot pot recipe. The hot pot came out amazing and it took me only 30 minutes to prepare the broth.
With that said, let me share with you today how I can whip up a piping hot a Sichuan Spicy Tofu dish in no time with the help Spicy Mala Tofu Seasoning from ZHOU JUN JI!! This should be a good news to you busy professionals looking for quick and easy recipes!
Speaking of good news, one of the readers DB has kindly nominated this site as the best site for the Saveur Best Food Blog Awards! I’ll share a link on how to vote for your favorite food blog (hope that’s Yi Reservation) on March 31st when the poll opens 🙂
Each bag of Spicy Mala Tofu Seasoning includes three individually packaged seasoning. Each small package is good for 1lb (500g) of tofu.
There is a cooking instruction, in both English and Chinese, on the back of the bag.
In testing the tofu reasoning, I made myself a vegetarian Sichuan Spicy Tofu with shiitake mushroom in less than 25 minutes. If you can’t wait to see how I did it, just skip straight to the recipe. But read on if you also wonder how it tastes?
Let’s just keep it simple by saying that if you enjoy the mapo tofu from a good Sichuan restaurant, you’d love the taste of this tofu dish! It’s very aromatic and packed with tons of heat but not overly spicy at the same time. Overall I would recommend this seasoning to anyone who wants to make authentic Sichuan spicy tofu at home!
One last thing, compared to my homemade mapo tofu, the seasoning uses less of the tongue-numbing Sichuan peppercorn so if you need to turn this spicy tofu dish into mapo tofu just add additional Sichuan peppercorn powder!
Disclaimer: The review below represents the opinion of Yi Reservation based on personal use and results. I do not receive any monetary compensation other than the free sample.
Easy Sichuan Mapo Tofu / Spicy Tofu
Yield: 4 sevings
Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 12
Total Time: 22
Ingredients:
- 1 pkg soft tofu, about 1lb
- 1 pkg spicy tofu seasoning
- 1.5 cup stock or water
- 3 cups Hot salt water for soaking tofu
- 2 shiitake mushroom, reconstituted (optional)
- 1 tbsp corn starch, dissolved in 2 tbsp of water
- Chopped scallions for garnishing
Directions:
- Cut the tofu into 1” x 1” cubes
- Soak the tofu in hot salt water for 5 minutes in order to reduce the pungent soy taste. Remove the tofu using a mesh drainer and set aside
- Mince the reconstituted shiitake mushroom
- In a frying pan or wok, heat 1 tbsp of oil. Add a pack of tofu seasoning and minced shiitake and stir fry until aromatic. About 2 minutes
- Add 1.5 cups of stock or water. Bring to boil
- Add the tofu cubes to the sauce and bring to boil again. Let simmer for about 5 minutes in low heat. Gently use a specula to splash sauce over the tofu. Thicken the sauce with cornstarch. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve hot
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Although I am always a bit wary of edible food products that have a shelf life of years, I am thinking the sodium content of the spicy mala seasoning will help preserve it. Wondering if there is a list of contents on those packets?
Hi Judy, sorry for getting back to you late. There is a list of ingredients on the package but I unfortunately didn’t take a picture of it. Yes i agree that the sodium will keep the seasoning from turning bad. Hope this helps a little bit.
Tofu cooked at its best form and look! Who wouldn’t fall for this spicy, warm, provocative dish? 🙂
Love that blue plate. And all your pictures.
Beautiful post.
I love tofu, but my husband, not so much so I’m always looking for spicy, flavorful tofu dishes. This definitely looks like one. I love this dish! Thanks for sharing!
I love tofu. In Austin we have just about every ethnic grocery store. I will have the spicy tofu seasoning packet as a staple at my house from now on. So good to know there is something like that available. My poor husband is German and grew up with meat and potatoes. He is pretty adventurous with food but he gets tired of me cooking Asian so I sometime cook 2 meals for dinner.
Yup these seasoning packages come really handy when you just want to whip out a delicious tofu dish under 20 minutes. I am glad to hear that you are a tofu fan!
I love tofu and this looks delicious. Unfortunately I cannot tolerate really spicy food. What other sauce packet can I use to get this same type of dish without the spice?
I love tofu and I find it really sad that most Westerners don’t really get tofu, thinking it’s just a bland healthfood thing. Done right, it’s delicious! Love the flavours of mapo tofu– definitely NOT bland.
I love tofu cause of it’s health benefits and versatility.
The touch of spiciness added by the sauce sounds wonderful.
Congratulation for your nomination!
Interesting way to cook mapo tofu. The tofu must have soaked up the flavors of the seasoning really well.
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Very nice, Yi! Mapo tofu is one of my very favorite Chinese dishes. I usually steer clear of prepared seasonings, but this one gets your seal of approval, then I’m up for it.
I too like the idea of using the ready made sauce, but have never used this one…looks really spicy…yum!
Have a great weekend Yi 😀
How easy is that! Looks good! Thanks for sharing! Have a wonderful weekend!
I love love love mapo tofu and of course my boys love the spice. It is very interesting that you make it mushrooms. I usually start out with some ground pork. Will have to give your vegan version a try. Take Care, BAM
This is definitely my all time favourite Szechuan dish. So good with some steamed rice.
Hi Yi! I stumbled across your blog whilst searching for water spinach. I have a treasure chest of an Asian store by me but I cannot tell what anything is! But looking at your photos of the water spinach and the name, I think I’ve deciphered it! This site is a find! And I see an old pal Mr Riffs is here too :). I’ve been missing out :). I will surely hit up your site when I need help! Thanks so much. This tofu dish looks amazing too. Can’t wait to see more.
Nazneen
I love this dish! And this is such a great way to make it. Easy, tasty, spicy — just what I like. 😉 Thanks so much.
We eat Tofu dishes quite often, I love the versatility of Tofu.
This recipe looks mouthwatering with a gorgeous, spicy touch.
Tofu is so easily overlooked but I can understand why, if you don’t know how to bring out the best in it. This looks wonderful with plenty of sauce to go around.
I haven’t had mapo tofu is a long time, I too prefer the vegetarian version
Hi Yi, my favorite spicy mapo tofu!!! I love having it with plain congee as I like to mix the gravy with the congee. Guess what? I can have 2 big bowls of congee just with this spicy mapo tofu dish alone! Thanks for sharing your easy peasy yet delectable recipes. You have a great week ahead and regards 🙂