M - Mapo Tofu

It was through a Japanese animation series entitled "Cooking Master Boy" when I first heard of the food "Mapo Tofu." I was still in college when I got to watch the series dubbed in our own national language, and since then I have wondered how this food tasted like. My curiosity was more aroused when I started watching the Japanese version of Iron Chef, and one of the chefs (Chen Kenichi) once cooked the best Mapo Tofu in one of the episodes, even surpassed the one cooked by his late father, Chen Kenmin, the father of Schezuan Cuisine in Japan.

A little background, Mapo doufu, or mapo tofu, is a popular Chinese dish from the Sichuan (Szechuan) province. It is a combination of tofu (bean curd) set in a spicy chili- and bean-based sauce, typically a thin, oily, and bright red suspension, and often topped with minced meat, usually pork or beef. Variations exist with other ingredients such as water chestnuts, onions, other vegetables, or wood ear fungus, but these are rarely considered authentic Sichuanese. {Source: Wikipedia}

One time while doing the grocery, I saw a sauce for mapo tofu (from Lee Kum Kee), and I bought it, just to satisfy the curiosity. I told my brother, if this one would taste good, then I will try to cook it from scratch.




Well, turned out, I didn't like the taste that much. Maybe it's because of the sauce, but it was salty spicy. I love spicy foods, but I guess it was an acquired taste. I still haven't completely turned my back on the dish. Maybe if I dine in a Chinese restaurant and see this on the menu, I might order it, just to taste it again. Then, I could decide if I would like the dish or not.

*** Jenn ***