This popular Chinese dish from Sichuan province consists of tofu set in a spicy sauce, typically a thin, oily, and bright red suspension, based on douban and douchi pastes, along with minced meat, traditionally beef or pork.
AuthorHungry PandaCategoryMeatDifficultyAdvancedDice the onion. Finely chop the garlic, bird’s-eye chillies and coriander. Cut the silken tofu into 2cm
cubes.
Wash and drain the preserved black beans, place them in a sealable plastic bag with the Sichuan
peppercorns and bash with a rolling pin until lightly crushed.
Place the meat in a bowl, add the marinade ingredients and massage together well with your hands. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a separate bowl.
Add 2 cups of rice to your rice cooker bowl at this point and fill to the white rice level 2 line. Use the ’WHITE RICE’, ’LONG GRAIN’ or ’REGULAR’ function on your rice cooker and press ’START’
Heat the oil in a wok over a medium-high heat until smoking-hot then add the onion. Stir-fry for 1 minute until the onions are lightly browned and starting to soften.
Add the garlic, black bean and peppercorn mix and chilli to the pan, followed immediately by the
marinated pork. Stir-fry for a further 2 minutes, until the pork/beef mince is separated and browned, then pour over the sauce and bring to a vigorous boil.
Add cornflour paste gradually until you get the desired thickness of the sauce then add the diced
tofu to the wok, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring gently so as not to
break up the tofu pieces. Continue to bubble away until the sauce has thickened and reduced by a third, but the dish is still nice and brothy.
Serve with rice in a large bowl and scatter over the finely chopped coriander togarnish.
Ingredients
Directions
Dice the onion. Finely chop the garlic, bird’s-eye chillies and coriander. Cut the silken tofu into 2cm
cubes.
Wash and drain the preserved black beans, place them in a sealable plastic bag with the Sichuan
peppercorns and bash with a rolling pin until lightly crushed.
Place the meat in a bowl, add the marinade ingredients and massage together well with your hands. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a separate bowl.
Add 2 cups of rice to your rice cooker bowl at this point and fill to the white rice level 2 line. Use the ’WHITE RICE’, ’LONG GRAIN’ or ’REGULAR’ function on your rice cooker and press ’START’
Heat the oil in a wok over a medium-high heat until smoking-hot then add the onion. Stir-fry for 1 minute until the onions are lightly browned and starting to soften.
Add the garlic, black bean and peppercorn mix and chilli to the pan, followed immediately by the
marinated pork. Stir-fry for a further 2 minutes, until the pork/beef mince is separated and browned, then pour over the sauce and bring to a vigorous boil.
Add cornflour paste gradually until you get the desired thickness of the sauce then add the diced
tofu to the wok, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring gently so as not to
break up the tofu pieces. Continue to bubble away until the sauce has thickened and reduced by a third, but the dish is still nice and brothy.
Serve with rice in a large bowl and scatter over the finely chopped coriander togarnish.
Notes
Adjust the spice on this one by carefully using less or more chillies and peppercorns. Obviously less will reduce the heat but try it spicy and use the rice to cool the mouth