Pock-marked old woman's tofu [Vegetarian] (Ma po dou fu) from Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking (page 76) by Fuchsia Dunlop

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Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

  • Eat Your Books

    Can substitute spring onions for baby leeks.

  • Idril on June 30, 2025

    This was disappointing unfortunately. I love salty food but it was searingly salty and I didn’t even use quite as much bean paste or black beans (and I rinsed the beans thoroughly). I balanced it out a bit with some sugar, threw in some blanched broccoli and a lot of unseasoned rice and it was okay but would not make again as written, sadly. Will look for other mapo tofu recipes.

  • lholtzman on December 07, 2023

    I prefer stock over water as it gives the dish a bit more depth. I lol ve this recipe and have made it multiple times.

  • Apollonia on December 25, 2021

    One of our all time favorites. Note that the version of this dish in Dunlop's The Food Of Sichuan is mostly identical but calls for more sichuan chilies (up to twice as much) and more water--- both fine changes if you ask me. Yum.

  • snoozermoose on December 13, 2021

    This is a really authentic mapo tofu recipe. Tasted very similar to what you would get from a good Szechuan restaurant. I do agree with others that it was pretty salty though. I used soft tofu for this and had a hard time keeping it together while gently stirring the ingredients in the wok. I'll prob try a firmer tofu next time.

  • TrishaCP on August 31, 2021

    I thought this was good, but it’s not my favorite version of this dish. My dish was quite salty as Breadcrumbs noted.

  • metacritic on April 16, 2021

    Made this dish a second time with broth. Still delicious and still worth making. I used baby leeks this time, which had a little more body and depth.

  • metacritic on March 19, 2021

    Delicious and totally straightforward. I used water, not broth, and green onions rather than baby leeks. It was still delicious. I could eat this weekly rather happily. Like many Dunlop recipes, the assembly of ingredients and prep is the hardest task of the dish.

  • sometimes on November 09, 2020

    Great minimal mapo tofu recipe. I made with spring onions, the optional chili flakes, no extra salt, and minor subs: Sichuan fermented black beans instead of the usual dry kind, BTB chicken broth instead of veggie. Could be a little saucier for my liking. It is salty but that's what the rice is for (and the BTB chicken broth probably didn't help here). Will make repeatedly but probably use this as a base to add other stuff to (like mushrooms).

  • jenburkholder on September 09, 2020

    This is a delicious, uncluttered version of ma po tofu. I might prefer vegetarian versions where the pork is replaced by mushrooms or other similar ingredients, but for one which is strictly pantry, this is the best. Have made several times.

  • excurvatus on December 14, 2019

    I'm glad i heeded Fuchsia's direction to cook the doubanjiang at a gentle sizzle to develop flavour for the final sauce - I think that is a technique note and rather key! This was great. I hope I will allow it to become a weeknight staple for me.

  • mirsaidi007 on June 15, 2019

    This was delicious. So much flavor. I used soft tofu and it was a good decision. I followed all directions as written, including soaking the tofu, and it was fabulous.

  • Bloominanglophile on September 04, 2017

    This was good, but not among my favorite tofu preparations. I didn't soak the tofu, either, but may try it sometime to see what it does to the texture of firm tofu. Definitely didn't need to add all the potato starch/water mixture to the dish. All in all it was just fine for a weeknight meal (served with rice and a veg).

  • helskitchenvt on August 08, 2016

    I actually like this dish best using the soft, silken tofu - it just melts into the sauce. It's about the only place I use it (outside of purees for dips) and it's so good.

  • hyperbowler on August 02, 2016

    As Dunlop notes, green garlic, if available, elevates the dish to a higher level than scallions. She suggests that you add the potato flour/water mixture at the end, and I've tried cooking for longer and reducing instead--- the recipe works better with the potato flour/water mixture.

  • Breadcrumbs on March 25, 2013

    p. 76 – Just ok. I used freshly made firm tofu that I did not pre-soak. I also used the Chinese baby leeks and garnished w some chopped green onion as well. I used the optional crushed chilis and water vs stock. While I thought this version of the dish was ok, I didn’t love it. I found the tofu a bit too firm - totally my fault. The dish was also too salty, almost overwhelming. This is the same bean paste I opened at the beginning of the month so I’m ruling that out and wondering whether the 1 tbsp of well-rinsed fermented black beans could have been the culprit? This is the first time I’ve used a tinned version vs my usual vacuum-packed beans. Finally, I didn’t find this dish to be as saucy as I like it to be. Even before I stirred in the potato flour slurry to thicken things up, I didn’t feel the dish was very saucy. I served this atop steamed rice. It made for a nice lunch but definitely didn’t wow me. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/892279#7977000

  • westminstr on February 25, 2013

    Made this recently and liked it. I used water for cooking liquid but I think stock would be better if available. I reduced the spicy sauce to 2 TB and omitted the chili entirely, plus only added sichuan pepper to adult portions, but it was still too spicy for the little ones. We liked the bear's claw tofu even better though.

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