Claypot Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐)
Dinner @ '大蓉和' (www.daronghe.cn/), a modern Sichuanese restaurant chain with colleagues.
One of the most famous and most recognisable Sichuan dish. Plain delicate tofu given a robust makeover with a healthy fiery blend of Sichuan spices. My colleagues said that a true Mapo Tofu needs to be reduced down three times using just water and corn starch to achieve that thick consistency that is so much loved. And as a final flourish, a dollop of spices is added just before serving to add even more sparkle.
As a Sichuanese, he scoffed at all the plain "Janes" out there which are watered down versions. A travesty he remarked.
And I love this dish. Yeah, it's spicy. Even fiery. Then again, chillies have little effect on me. I could gulp down pots of this stuff.
Claypot Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐)
Dinner @ '大蓉和' (www.daronghe.cn/), a modern Sichuanese restaurant chain with colleagues.
One of the most famous and most recognisable Sichuan dish. Plain delicate tofu given a robust makeover with a healthy fiery blend of Sichuan spices. My colleagues said that a true Mapo Tofu needs to be reduced down three times using just water and corn starch to achieve that thick consistency that is so much loved. And as a final flourish, a dollop of spices is added just before serving to add even more sparkle.
As a Sichuanese, he scoffed at all the plain "Janes" out there which are watered down versions. A travesty he remarked.
And I love this dish. Yeah, it's spicy. Even fiery. Then again, chillies have little effect on me. I could gulp down pots of this stuff.