Vegan Mapo Tofu with shitake mushrooms

Vegan Mapo Tofu with shitake mushroom and plant based mince

No ratings yet

Vegan Mapo Tofu with shitake mushrooms

Vegan Mapo Tofu (or "pockmarked grandma's beancurd") is a rich and spicy Chinese dish. It's perfect for anyone following a plant based diet.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Chinese

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: dried red chilli, fermented black beans, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, Sichuan peppercorns, silken tofu, soy sauce, spicy bean paste, spring onions

Servings: people

Calories: 441.55kcal

Ingredients

50 grams shiitake mushrooms dried
150 grams vegan mince
250 ml water
400 grams silken tofu
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 small dried red chillies sliced
1.5 tablespoon fermented black beans rinsed
2 tablespoon spicy bean paste
2 teaspoons garlic minced
1 inch root ginger grated
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns ground
1 tablespoon cornflour
2 spring onions sliced

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Re-hydrate the shitake mushrooms in 250 millilitres of boiling water. Once re-hydrated (roughly 20 minutes) drain the mushrooms, keeping the broth for later, and finely chop them.
Next, cut tofu into 1 inch cubes.
Bring a pan of boiling, salted water, to the boil. Add the cubes of tofu and let them sit for 15 minutes to firm up.
In the meantime, heat the vegetable oil in a wok or wide-bottomed pan over a medium heat.
Add the chillies, black beans and spicy bean paste and cook for 1-2 minutes until sizzling.
Add garlic and ginger for 2 minutes before adding the vegan mince, chopped mushrooms, soy sauce, sesame oil and Sichuan pepper. Cook until the mince is hot and cooked through.
Add the reserved mushroom broth and bring to a simmer.
Once the sauce is bubbling, strain the tofu and add to the pan.
Swirl the sauce so that it gently coats the tofu.
Dissolve the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of the sauce then add this cornstarch slurry back to the pan.
Again, swirl the sauce so that the cornstarch is evenly distributed.
Cook for 5 - 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly and the tofu is well coated.
Serve with the spring onion slices sprinkled over the top.

Notes

Are there any alternatives to spicy bean paste?

You could easily make your own with the ingredients I've mentioned above. At a push you could use gochujang, a red chilli paste that is a core component of Korean cooking.

Gochujang is also made with fermented soy beans and chilli but one of the key differences is that gochujang is made from rice instead of broad beans.

I find that gochujang is sweeter than doubanjiang so you may need to adjust the seasoning if you use it as a substitute in this dish.

Nutrition