Mapo tofu — silken tofu in a sauce of doubanjiang (CC-06), minced pork or beef, Sichuan peppercorn, black bean paste, and stock — is the most internationally recognised Sichuan preparation. The technical challenge: the silken tofu must not break into pieces during the cooking while absorbing the sauce's flavour. The cornstarch liaison added at the end coats the tofu in sauce without requiring the aggressive stirring that would destroy its structure.
- **Silken tofu:** Cut into 2cm cubes and added gently to the simmered sauce — slid off the cutting board directly into the sauce, never lifted with tongs. - **Gently simmering sauce:** The doubanjiang has been fried in oil (CC-06), stock added, the sauce simmered before the tofu goes in. - **No stirring:** Once the tofu is in the sauce, it is moved by gently tilting the wok or by carefully pushing the liquid around the tofu with a spatula. Stirring breaks the silken tofu. - **Cornstarch liaison:** Cornstarch dissolved in cold water added to the sauce while the tofu simmers — thickens the sauce to a coating consistency. - **The Sichuan pepper:** Added off heat — the numbing compound is volatile; high heat destroys it.
China: The Cookbook