Ma-Po Tofu

Yield: 4 servings

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon peanut or other oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
• 2 T chili bean sauce
• 2 T black bean sauce
  
• 1/4 to 1/2 pound ground pork, turkey,chicken or TVP
  
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions, green part only
• 1/2 cup stock or water
• 1 pound soft or silken tofu, cut in 1/2-inch cubes [optional: poached first in water]
  
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Salt to taste
• Minced cilantro and ground Szechuan peppercorns for garnish, optional

Method

1. Put oil in a deep 10-inch skillet or wok, preferably nonstick, and turn heat to medium-high. A minute later, add garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes, and cook just until they begin to sizzle, less than a minute. Add pork, and stir to break it up; cook, stirring occasionally, until it loses most of its pink color.
2. Add scallions and stir; add stock. Cook for a minute or so, scraping bottom of pan with a wooden spoon if necessary to loosen any stuck bits of meat, then add tofu. Cook, stirring once or twice, until tofu is heated through, about 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the soy sauce; taste, and add salt and red pepper flakes as necessary. Garnish with cilantro if you like, and serve.

Source: Mark Bittman and commenters, The New York Times, 2/4/09