Recipe for My Mom’s Japanese-Style Mapo Tofu from ‘The Wok’

J. Kenji López-Alt has written a new cookbook with handy tips, fascinating asides and some 200 dishes all related to the wok. One recipe in “The Wok” is for a version of mapo tofu that is similar to what he ate growing up, though instead of plain ground beef his mom would use the dish as an opportunity to use up leftover dumpling filling. Unlike the numbing-hot Sichuan version, this one is savory and sweet, with the classic Japanese flavors of soy, sake and mirin, and comes together even faster, if you can believe it. It’s one of López-Alt’s go-to meals for the family when you’re not in the mood for spicy foods and are craving saucy soft tofu.

MY MOM’S JAPANESE-STYLE MAPO TOFU

Serves: 4

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 teaspoon (3 g) cornstarch

1 tablespoon (15 ml) cold water

2 tablespoons (30 ml) peanut, rice bran, or other neutral oil

4 ounces (120 g) ground beef

2 teaspoons (5 g) minced garlic (about 2 medium cloves)

2 teaspoons (5 g) minced fresh ginger (about ½-inch segment)

2 scallions, chopped into ¼-inch pieces, dark greens reserved for garnish

2 tablespoons (30 ml) sake

2 tablespoons (30 ml) mirin

1 tablespoon (15 ml) shoyu or light soy sauce

¼ cup (60 ml) low-sodium chicken stock, dashi, or water

1½ pounds medium to firm silken tofu, cut into ½-inch cubes

Steamed rice and chili oil, for serving

DIRECTIONS

Combine the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl and mix with a fork until homogenous. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok over high heat until smoking. Add the beef and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add the garlic, ginger, and scallion whites and pale greens and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the sake, mirin, soy sauce, and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Pour in the cornstarch mixture and cook for 30 seconds, until thickened. Add the tofu and carefully fold it in, being careful not to break it up too much. Transfer immediately to a serving bowl and sprinkle with the scallion greens. Serve immediately with rice and chili oil.

———