What is a mapo tofu? (麻婆豆腐)
Mapo tofu is such a comforting and homey dish that’s so easy to make at home.
Mapo (麻婆) in Chinese means “pockmarked old woman”, so this dish is named after pockmarked old woman’s tofu. As the name suggests, this is a popular Chinese dish that has tofu and minced meat in a spicy sauce that’s made with fermented chilli bean paste (aka douban sauce 豆瓣酱). The sauce is spicy and full of umami, and some people also enjoy adding chilli oil, numbing Sichuan peppercorns and chillies.
While both soft tofu and hard tofu can be used for this, it all comes down to personal preference.
This dish originated in Sichuan, China (四川) and as you probably know, they love their spicy food over there!
For this recipe, I omitted the numbing Sichuan peppercorns and chillies because I didn’t want it to be overly spicy. However, if you’re into spice, definitely consider adding that! It’ll be a numbing, spicy and creamy dish.
Mac and Cheese
This is an American classic that you’ve probably had at some point in your life.
In Australia, there are those instant mac and cheese packets you can purchase from the grocery store. But making it from scratch at home is so much better.
While the traditional recipe uses macaroni (hence its name mac and cheese), I experimented with shell pasta instead. But you can use macaroni or any pasta that holds sauce well.
The combination of the creamy and gooey cheese sauce with al dente pasta, combined with the spicy mapo tofu, is delicious!
The first step is to make the mapo tofu. It starts with browning some minced meat (I used minced pork) with oil, then adding in your seasonings including the spicy douban sauce.
I love using my love heart cocotte from Crumble cookware – they’re an Australian based cookware brand that I trust. The best part about it, aside from its cute aesthetic, is that it allows for:
- superior heat retention as it’s made from cast iron
- even heat distribution which means all ingredients cook evenly
- works on all cooktops, including induction, gas, electric etc.
- is oven-safe!! this one’s key for this recipe!
You can use my special code LATENIGHTANNA for $10 off your order – that’s huge! Note: I receive a small commission for every purchase.
If you’re not using this cocotte, make sure to use an oven-safe pot.
Soft tofu vs hard tofu (or no tofu?)
You can use either soft tofu, hard tofu, or even use no tofu for this recipe!
Soft tofu will break apart easily, so it might just mix into the cheesy sauce.
Firm tofu, which is what I used, will hold its shape. That means you’ll be able to enjoy cubes of tofu with the cheesy sauce.
But hear me out – if you’re not a fan of tofu particularly, I’d recommend you to just not add tofu at all.
I know what you’re thinking. The dish is literally called Mapo tofu, how can you not include tofu at all? Well, I think cheesy sauce covered tofu chunks might not be suitable for everyone’s taste, so just omit it if you want.
Next time I make this dish again, I think I’ll just exclude the tofu.
The cheesy and creamy sauce!
To make a really cheesy and creamy sauce for your mac and cheese, I’d suggest hvaing a combination of both cheddar cheese (in Australia we call this Tasty cheese) and mozzarella cheese. If you like a sharper taste, feel free to add parmesan cheese too!
Why different types of cheese? Well, they serve different purposes.
- Cheddar (tasty) cheese: this adds a stronger cheese flavour and saltiness to the sauce. I wouldn’t recommend omitting this one. I would also highly recommend you to freshly grate your own cheddar cheese.
- Mozzarella cheese: this helps with the texture! It gives you that *wow* cheese pull and stretchiness.
- Parmesan cheese: optional – but adds more sharpness and saltiness to the pasta!
To mix or not to mix?
So the question is..to mix or not to mix?
Once your mapo mac and cheese comes out all bubbly from the oven, let it sit there and rest for a good 15mins before serving. It’s piping hot so be careful!
When you serve, you can choose to mix the mapo tofu with the creamy mac and cheese, so it all becomes one sauce, or you can serve it as is without mixing (think lasagne).
If you choose to mix it, you won’t taste as much of the mapo tofu flavours. Instead, you’ll have a creamy mac and cheese with a hint of spiciness. This is the method I used in my cooking video, but looking back, I would like to keep them separate.
My serving recommendation!
The other way to serve, is to keep the mapo tofu layer and the mac and cheese separate. This ensures you can taste the best of both worlds!
It kind of reminds me of a spicy lasagne.
Mapo Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
Method
- Heat oil in a cocotte (or any oven-safe pot) over medium heat.
- Add the minced pork and stir-fry until it loses its pink colour.
- Add garlic, ginger, douban paste, sugar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and Shaoxing wine. Stir until fragrant.
- Add 1 cup water, chicken bouillon and the tofu cubes.
- Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Mix cornstarch with cold water to make a slurry, then stir it into the pot until the sauce thickens.
- Turn off the heat and transfer the mapo tofu to a separate bowl. Set aside.
- In the same cocotte, bring salted water to a boil.
- Cook the pasta until al dente according to package instructions.
- Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water, then drain the rest and set pasta aside.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 356°F.
- In the same pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for about 3 minutes until lightly golden.
- Gradually add milk, heavy cream, and pasta water, whisking constantly until smooth.
- Season with salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper.
- Add mozzarella and cheddar, stirring until fully melted and creamy.
- Add the cooked pasta and mix until evenly coated.
- Spread the cooked mapo tofu evenly over the mac and cheese.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella and cheddar topping on top.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and lightly golden.
- Top with fresh scallions and serve immediately. Enjoy!
