Cooking with Science: Ma-Po Tofu
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.It's Saturday and I'm being domestic today.— Robert A. Heinlein
Time Enough for Love, 1973
I've written before about LL and my approaches to cooking. LL is an artist; she never really measures anything and uses recipes as a vague guide at most. I, on the other hand, am a scientist. I experiment, make observations, and when I've hit on the perfect combination of ingredients I reproduce the result by repeating the process the same time, every time. I don't follow recipes so much as protocols.
In this vein, I have been conducting experiments these past couple of months to produce the perfect ma-po tofu. I am pleased to say that I feel that I have done it, and I'm going to place my protocol directly into the public domain. I would consider publishing in a refereed journal, but this is far too important a milestone to be locked away in some limited-access publication that would be read only by specialist ma-po tofuologists.
Ground pork (4 oz.)
Firm tofu (12 oz., cut into .5" cubes)
Frozen peas (1 cup) don't use canned; they can turn into green mush!
Oyster mushrooms, fresh (8 oz., chopped coarsely)
Chicken broth (1/2 cup)
Green onions (3, sliced) do not substitute regular onions!
Garlic (3 cloves, minced)
Ginger, fresh (3/4 tsp., minced) do not substitute dried ginger!
Rice vinegar (2 tbsp.)
Soy sauce (2 tbsp.)
Black bean sauce (3/4 tbsp.)
Chili paste (3/8 tbsp.)
Ground red pepper (1 tsp.)
Cornstarch (1 tsp., dry)
Cornstarch (1 tbsp. dissolved in 1.5 tbsp. water)
Procedure:
Combine ground pork, rice vinegar and dry corn starch in a bowl. Cover and set aside.
Mix soy sauce, black bean sauce, chili paste, ground red pepper, ginger, and garlic in another bowl.
In a wok, heat 1 tbsp. of canola oil over medium-high heat. Add ground pork mixture and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes. Add green onions and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes until the pork is evenly cooked.
Add ingredients from the second bowl. Continue cooking for another 2 minutes.
Add tofu, peas and oyster mushrooms. Stir and cook for 2 minutes taking care not to mash the tofu, then add chicken broth.
When the mixture comes to a constant boil (e.g., when you stir it, it comes back to a boil immediately) add the cornstarch dissolved in water. Stir thoroughly but don't mash the tofu (best way: insert a wooden spoon at the edge of the mixture, then flip it over again and again). Continue cooking for 5 minutes; sauce will thicken appreciably.
Remove from heat and allow to stand for 10 minutes to cool. Put it into a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
When ready to serve over rice, heat until piping hot (NOT IN A MICROWAVE OVEN). The time in the refrigerator allows the flavors to blend.
Yield: 4-6 servings, depending on how much you eat. Best served over rice.
If you reproduce this protocol exactly, you'll have the best ma-po tofu ever. It's science. Well, almost. Damned fine dinner, though.
