← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 500 g soft or silken tofu, cut into 2 cm cubes
• 120 g minced pork or beef
• 2 tsp whole Sichuan peppercorns
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp Pixian doubanjiang (chilli bean paste)
• 1 tbsp Fermented black beans (douchi), rinsed and roughly chopped (optional)
• 1 tsp ground chilli or chilli flakes
• 3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp Ginger, finely chopped
• 250 ml chicken stock or water
• 1 tsp Soy sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 2 tsp Cornflour (cornstarch), mixed with 3 tbsp cold water
• 2 Spring onion, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp Chilli oil (optional)
• salt, for the tofu water

Method

1. Toast the Sichuan peppercorns in a dry wok over medium heat for 1–2 min, until fragrant, then grind them to a powder and set aside.
2. Bring a pan of water to a gentle simmer with a good pinch of salt. Slide in the tofu and keep it barely bubbling for 2 min, which firms it up so it holds together. Lift it out carefully and leave it on a plate.
3. Heat the oil in the wok over medium-high heat and fry the mince, breaking it up, until it is browned and a little crisp, about 4 min.
4. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the doubanjiang, black beans (if using) and ground chilli and fry for 1 minute until the oil turns red. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for another 30 seconds.
5. Pour in the stock, soy sauce and sugar and bring to a simmer. Gently add the tofu and nudge it into the sauce with the back of a spatula rather than stirring. Simmer for 5 min so the tofu soaks up the flavour.
6. Stir the cornflour mix, then drizzle it into the sauce in two or three additions, gently shaking the wok, until the sauce clings to the tofu. Scatter over the spring onion, ground Sichuan pepper and chilli oil, and serve hot with rice.

Tips

• Sichuan pepper is meant to make your lips tingle; start with half the ground pepper if you are new to it.
• For a vegetarian version, swap the pork for finely chopped shiitake and use vegetable stock.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

RecipeTin Eats Omnivore's Cookbook