Chinese Kitchen - Ma Po Tofu (麻婆豆腐)

This is one of my favorite Szechuan dish. Like most Chinese food, this dish is simple and quick to cook, fantastic to serve with steamed rice and steamed seasonal vegetables.

Serves 4

500g free range minced pork 

250g firm tofu, equally diced into cubes

1 tbsp fragmented black beans 

4 tbsp chili bean paste (I prefer using Lee Kum Kee)

A thumb of fresh ginger, finely chopped

2 glove of garlic, crushed

3 stalks of spring onions, sliced

2 tsp cornflour 

Cold water

1 tbsp dark soy sauce (for colouring)

Pinch of ground white pepper

1 tbsp oyster sauce 

Light soy sauce, to season

Basmati rice, steamed (enough to serves 4 people, depending on appetite)

1. Prepare and steam the rice using a rice steamer/ pot on the hob.

2. In a deep frying pan, heat some oil and one it is hot enough, cook the garlic, fragmented black beans and ginger enough to infuse the oil but not burnt. Now brown the pork.

3. Stir in the chili bean paste and cook the meat mixture with medium heat for 10 minutes.

4. In a bowl, mix the dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, enough cold water and cornflour together to form a paste-like sauce. 

5. Pour the sauce into the meat,  add the tofu and cook together for another 10 -15 minutes.

6. Sprinkle the spring onions on top couple of minutes before serving.

7. Serve with steamed rice and vegetables of your choice.