Mapo Tofu

One of the greatest Sichuan dishes. This version is from the great Danny Bowien and his Mission Chinese Cookbook.

Ingredients

Base

2 oz. dried whole shiitake mushrooms

3 cups very hot water

1/3 cup soy sauce (Pearl River Bridge is a great choice)

1/2 cup doubanjiang

1/3 cup tomato paste

Braise

1/2 cup chili oil (I usually use the oil drained from a jar of chili crisp)

15 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup fermented black beans

1/3 cup chili crisp

12 oz. bottle of cheap beer

2 tsp. mushroom powder

1 tsp. toasted and ground Sichuan peppercorns

15 oz. firm tofu cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 lb. Impossible pork (spicy variety), or ground pork if you want meat

1/2 tsp. fish sauce

Prickly ash oil for drizzling

Several sprigs of cilantro

2 scallions, thinly chopped

Recipe

1. In a bowl, combine the shiitake mushrooms, hot water, and soy sauce. Soak until the mushrooms are rehydrated and feel soft

2. Drain the mushrooms, but save the liquid they were rehydrated in

3. Chop the mushrooms into small chunks using a food processor, or do it by hand if you've got the time

4. Combine the mushroom liquid, doubanjiang, and tomato paste in a bowl. Whisk to combine, then add the chopped mushrooms. Save 1 & 3/4 cups of this base for the recipe, and freeze or refrigerate the rest (should have enough leftover for a second batch of mapo tofu)

5. In a Dutch oven or other large pot, heat the chili oil over medium heat, adding the garlic, black beans, and chili crisp, and cook until the garlic has softened a bit and the mixture becomes aromatic

6. Remove the aromatics from the pan as best you can and set them aside for now

7. Turn the heat up a bit and add the Impossible pork, cook until browned well, using a wooden spoon to break it up into small pieces

8. Once the pork is well-browned, deglaze with the bottle of beer, then add back in the aromatics, fish sauce, mushroom powder, ground Sichuan pepper, and the 1 & 3/4 cups of base you saved earlier. Braise for up to an hour

9. Add the tofu just before serving, and stir it in and allow to cook for another minute

10. Serve with steamed white rice and garnish with cilantro, scallions, and a bit of extra prickly ash oil if you so desire