Ma Po Bean Curd
Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 cubes Bean Curd (2" x 2")
- 4 oz. ground pork (or beef)
- 1 t. Garlic, chopped
- 1 T. Green onion, chopped
- 1 T. Hot bean paste
- 1 t. brown peppercorn powder
- 2 T. soysauce
- 1 t. salt
- 2 t. cornstarch (make paste)
- 2 t. cold water (make paste)
- 1 C. soup stock
- 1 t. sesame oil
- 3 C. oil
Cooking Procedures:
Cut the bean curd into 1/2 inch cubes and deep fry in hot oil for about
1/2 minute (or boil in water).
Remove all oil except 3T. Reheat and fry the ground pork well, then add
garlic, hot bean paste, soysauce, salt, soup stock, and bean curd. Boil
for three minutes.
Thicken with the cornstarch paste, then sprinkle with chopped green onion
and sesame oil. Place on plate and sprinkle with brown peppercorn powder
and serve.
Tips:
Hot red pepper oil may be added to this dish, if you like it hotter.
Attribution:
Pei Mei's Chinese Cook Book, Volume I, by Fu Pei-Mei.
Another recipe
An alternate recipe, from
The Complete Encyclopedia of Chinese Cooking, Kenneth Lo et al,
goes as follows:
Ingredients (2)
- 5-6 dried Chinese mushrooms
- 1 1/4 cups hot water
- 1/4 cup oil
- 2 tsp salted black beans, soaked for 10 minutes and drained.
- 5-6 tbsp ground beef
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tsp chili sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2-3 cakes Bean Curd
- 1/4 cup clear broth
- 2 tsp. cornstarch, dissolved in 3 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Preparation (2)
Soak the mushrooms in the water for 20 minutes. Drain, reserving the water.
Stem the mushrooms and cut into quarters.
Cooking Procedure (2)
Heat the oil in a pan. Add the black beans. Stir-fry for 20 seconds. Add
the beef, half the spring onions (scallions), and the mushrooms. Stir-fry
for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, 3-4 tablespoons of the mushroom water,
the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chili sauce, sugar, bean curd, and broth.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Sprinkle in the cornstarch mixture, the remaining spring onions (scallions),
and the sesame seed oil. Cook, stirring, until thickened. Serve hot.
jfw@funhouse.com