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Mapo tofu's name translates as 'pockmarked old woman's tofu,' named for a Chengdu restaurant owner in the 1860s — Chen Liu, the wife of Chen Chunfu, whose face was marked by smallpox but whose dish became famous enough to keep the restaurant operating for three generations. The texture contrast is intentional: silken tofu cubes that barely hold together, swimming in a sauce of doubanjiang (Pixian fermented chili-bean paste) and ground pork, with the numbing mála combination of dried chili and Sichuan peppercorn. The peppercorn is ground and added at the end as 'flower pepper powder' — its citrusy, numbing fragrance dissipates quickly, so timing matters. The sauce should be glossy and lightly oil-separated, with enough broth to not be dry; the tofu should be slipped into the sauce after it is built, not stirred aggressively, or it will break.
Cut the firm tofu into cubes and set aside.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
Add the ground pork and cook until it is no longer pink and slightly browned. Remove the pork from the skillet and set aside.
In the same skillet, add the minced garlic, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add the fermented black beans and doubanjiang, and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.
Return the cooked pork to the skillet and mix well with the aromatics.
Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer.
Add the cubed tofu and gently stir to coat the tofu with the sauce. Be careful not to break the tofu.
Add the cornstarch slurry to the skillet and gently stir until the sauce thickens.
Drizzle with sesame oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Garnish with chopped green onions and serve the Mapo Tofu hot, with steamed rice.
Sichuan silken tofu in fermented chili-bean sauce with ground pork; mála (numbing-spicy) flavor from Sichuan peppercorns.
Chengdu, Sichuan; named for 'pockmarked grandmother' Chen Liu; 1860s origin; now a Sichuan classic eaten globally.
Silken tofu, Pixian doubanjiang (fermented chili-bean paste), ground pork, garlic, ginger, Sichuan peppercorn powder, chicken broth, cornstarch slurry.
Add ground Sichuan peppercorn powder at the very end off the heat — it's volatile and loses its numbing fragrance if cooked too long; use Pixian doubanjiang specifically, not generic chili paste.
Steamed rice (essential — the sauce needs rice to moderate the heat); cucumber salad; cold Tsingtao beer.