Tofu with Hot Bean Sauce (Mapo Tofu)

 November 21, 2024

I’ve been making various versions of this dish since my children were little. They loved it and would request it. I had a good vegetarian tofu dish as well, but that was a hard sell. I think of it as Chinese comfort food. The original recipe came from the superb The Key to Chinese Cooking by Irene Kao, but I’ve tweaked it over the years. Some of the ingredients are probably not in your pantry, but they’re worth seeking out at an Asian market. You can substitute ground beef for the pork, but it will be heavier. Make sure you have every ready before you start cooking as the actual cooking takes very little time.

Ingredients

1 14oz block of extra firm tofu

½ LB of ground pork

An inch long piece of fresh ginger, minced

2 TBS Shaoxing Wine or dry sherry or saki (divided)

2 TBS dark soy sauce (divided)

1 TBS hot bean paste

1 TBS fermented black beans

1 cup chicken stock

2 tsp corn starch dissolved in 1 TBS water

2 tsp dark sesame oil

½ tsp Szechuan peppercorns

2 whole scallions chopped

2 TBS peanut oil

Recipe

Cut the tofu into ½ inch cubes. Place in a large  bowl and cover with hot (not boiling) water while you prep your ingredients. Mince the ginger. Strain the black beans and put them in a cup with one TBS of the wine.

Have two more small bowls ready. In the first, add the other TBS of wine, the hot bean sauce, and 1 TBS of the dark soy sauce. Stir to combine.

In the second bowl, add the other TBS of dark soy sauce, the sesame oil, and the cornstarch in water. Roast the peppercorns for 5 minutes in a skillet on low heat. Crush in a mortar. Chop the scallions and put the scallions and peppercorns on a small plate.

When you have everything ready and nearby heat the skillet over high heat until hot. Add the peanut oil and when it begins to smoke add the pork, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Add the ginger to the pan and stir until all the pink is gone from the pork. Add the wine, bean paste, and soy sauce from your first bowl, add the black beans in wine, stir briskly for a minute, add the chicken stock and lower the heat to a simmer.

Drain the tofu well in a colander and add to the pan. Stir gently to even out the pan without breaking the tofu cubes. When it starts to bubble adjust heat so that it keeps a good simmer. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove cover and pour in the cornstarch, dark soy sauce and sesame oil from your second bowl. Give it a big stir and stir  until it thickens, add the scallions and the peppercorns. Serve over white rice (I like Jasmine.) Enjoy!

Rick’s Homemade Peach Ice Cream

July 28, 2024 by richardlfloyd

We have a great farm stand around the corner from us, and this time of year we revel in fresh sweet corn and ripe tomatoes. They also always have the best peaches which they import from various places. The ones they have right now are from Pennsylvania, and they are juicy and ripe. I love peaches, but have stopped buying them in the grocery store, because they are either hard as a rock or mealy in texture. If you have good peaches available, I recommend making peach ice cream. This recipe is easy. No eggs, you don’t have to make a custard, and you don’t have to peel the peaches. The ice cream tastes like summer. You will need an ice cream machine.

Ingredients

5 ripe peaches pitted but skins left on

1 and 1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

A pinch of salt

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp real vanilla

1 Tbs Grand Marnier (optional but good)

Recipe

Put your ice cream maker’s  freezing bowl in the freezer at least 24 hours before making the ice cream.

Wash your peaches, pit them and cut into small pieces or slices. Put them in a medium sized bowl with a cup of the sugar, the lemon juice and salt and let them macerate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour.

Meanwhile, put your heavy cream and milk in a medium sauce pan, add the vanilla, and cook on medium low heat for a few minutes to melt the sugar, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool.

When the peaches are done macerating, strain any juice and add it to the cream mixture. Place the preach pieces in a blender (or food processor) and pulse. You want something close to puree, but not quite, so that some small pieces remain. When it looks right to you, pour the peaches into the cream mixture and stir to mix. Put it in the refrigerator for several hours. You want it cold when it goes in the ice cream machine.

When it time to make the ice cream, put your mix into the machine’s bowl and start it up. It typically takes 15 to 20 minutes to make ice cream. Follow the instructions for your machine.

Don’t over churn or you’ll get ice crystals. If you use Grand Marnier, add it with a few minutes to go. If you add it earlier it will lower the freezing point, and your ice cream will not harden.

When it’s done it will be like soft serve ice cream. If you want it firmer put it in a container and put it in the freezer for 2 hours, or up to 6 hours. Serve and enjoy!

(Photos by R. L. Floyd, 2024)