Ma Po Tofu

Today was a snow day. Well not exactly; I worked from home, En took the day off to watch Alexis, and Alexis ran around the house. The storm dropped at least a foot of slush on the city which is worse than either rain or snow because slush is like liquid ice; it causes flooding, it is dense and backbreaking to shovel or walk through, and it is the perfect medium for hydroplaning. Our street was a river. The highways were flooded out. If it was En and I alone we would have battled our way in, but we couldn't bare to think of what could happen as we tried to get Alexis to and from my mother in law's.

So I had the ingredients in the fridge and figured this was the perfect day of the week to try this recipe. Believe it or not, I made it over my lunch (hour). Mind you, I prepped all the ingredients early in the morning, so by noon I was ready to go.

Ma Po Tofu is an iconic Szechuan dish which translates loosely to 'pockmarked face of grandmother' which is not a name fitting to its taste. It has become a favourite of ours after I got En to try some from a take out restaurant his family frequents. After that he was hooked! This is a much healthier version, of course, but what I did here was use actual black beans instead of the prepared black been sauce. Trust me, there is a difference in texture, and I'm writing the recipe below using the sauce, though the picture contains the actual black beans. Don't get me wrong - using actual black beans still made a very tasty dish, but it is not the same flavour or texture as the original dish, and to me transforms the dish too much from what it is intended to be.

Thinking ahead to prepare everything to make a bowl of comfort on a snowed-in-yet-working day is a wonderful mini escape that affords you that time of eating like it's the weekend. I prepped ingredients before the sun came up with a toddler running around my kitchen. I'm not saying to do this every day, but once in a while, it really is worth the effort. At least, that's what En and I thought as we relaxed on the couch with a bowl of Ma Po Tofu over Steamed Rice as we watched Alexis play on the living room floor.

Ma Po Tofu

Medium Tofu		1 pkg, drained, cubed 1/2"
Oyster Mushrooms		4 cups, sliced
Lean Ground Pork		2 lbs
Baby Bok Choi		6, shredded or minced
Green Onion		3 stalks, chopped
Onion		1 medium, minced
Garlic		5 cloves,  minced
Corn Starch		2 tbsp
Black Bean Sauce		4 tbsp
Hoisen Sauce		2 tbsp
Hot Bean Paste		2 tbsp
Crab Paste		1 tbsp
Soy Sauce		1 tbsp
Chilli Peppers		4 whole
Black Pepper		1 tsp, freshly cracked
Water		2 cups / 4 tbsp
Canola Oil		4 tbsp

Preparation:

1. If tofu is easily broken to the touch, wrap it in cheesecloth/heavy kitchen paper and press it in a sieve for an hour.
2. In a wok like pan, heat oil on medium and saute onions and garlic.
3. When translucent, add mushrooms and stir.
4. Once mushrooms have browned and reduced, add hot bean paste, black bean sauce, soy sauce, crab paste and hoisen sauce.
5. Add the ground pork and brown. Step 4 and 5 are interchangeable, but I've found browning meat with the mushrooms lends a better flavour and the nature of the dish allows for the mushroom to cook down.
6. Add the chilli peppers and cracked black pepper. Szechuan peppercorns are best and authentic, but if you don't have them on hand (and I don't), use fresh, good quality black peppercorns.
7. Once meat has browned and begins to sizzle, add two cups of water. This shouldn't cover, but come about half way up the mixture.
8. Cook for 10 minutes on medium heat. When it's ready the water has thickened slightly into a sauce.
9. Add the tofu and stir.
10. Add bok choi and stir. Bok choi is not authentic, but it gets some greens in to my diet, gives a nice freshness that deepens the mushroom flavour and that's just how I've done it.
11. RLet the mixture simmer for another 10 minutes.
12. Mix the cornstarch in the remaining four tbsp of cold water and stir vigorously into the pot.
13. Let the mixture come to a boil for a minute (to activate the thickening of the corn starch) and then remove from heat.
14. Stir and let rest covered for 10 minutes