Authentic Ma Po Tofu

First, we make the chili oil. If you have bottled chili oil, you can skip this step. Heat your wok or a small saucepan on low. Add half of the oil and throw in the peppers. Stir occasionally until the oil is bright red. Make sure that the peppers don’t brown! Once the oil is red (or reddish) remove from heat and set aside. You can do this in advance and let it sit on the counter. The longer it sits, the redder it’ll get.

Heat the remaining half of the oil in your wok over medium heat. Add your Sichuan peppercorns and stir occasionally. Let them fry very gently. You want to release the flavors without browning the peppercorns. Once the peppercorns have cooked for 2-3 minutes, add the ginger. Turn up the heat to medium high in order to lightly fry the ginger. Then add the garlic. Stir 2-3 times, then turn up the heat and add the ground pork. Break up the meat and fry it until it’s cooked through and browned.

Add the spicy bean sauce to the mixture and stir it in well. Add the water or chicken broth to the wok and stir. Let this simmer for a minute or so. While that’s happening, ready your tofu and also put the cornstarch into a small bowl with the water and mix it with a fork—make sure all the clumps are broken up.

Add the cornstarch mixture to your sauce and stir. Let it bubble away until the sauce starts to thicken. Then add your chili oil from before—peppers and all! Stir the oil into the sauce, and then add the tofu. Use your spatula to gently toss the tofu in the sauce. Let everything cook for 3-5 minutes. Add the scallions and stir until the scallions are just wilted. You can also set aside a small handful to sprinkle over the top of the finished dish. Serve hot with a nice mounded bowl of white rice!