Famous Spicy Chinese dish - Bean Sauce Tofu

Bean Sauce Tofu

Bean Sauce Tofu is a popular spicy Chinese dish from the Sichuan (Szechuan) province. It is a combination of tofu (bean curd) and minced meat, usually pork or beef, in a spicy chili- and bean-based sauce, typically a thin, oily, and bright red suspension. Variations with other ingredients such as water chestnuts, onions, other vegetables, or wood ear fungus are not considered authentic recreations of the Sichuan classic. The name is often thought to mean "Pocked-Face Lady's Tofu," and is said to come from a (possibly fictional) food vendor by the name of Ma, who made and sold the dish.

True Mapo doufu is powerfully spicy with both conventional "heat" spiciness and the characteristic "mala" (numbing spiciness) flavor of Sichuan (Szechuan) cuisine. The feel of the particular dish is often described by cooks using seven specific Chinese adjectives: (numbing), (spicy hot), (hot temperature), (fresh), (tender and soft), (aromatic), and (flaky). These seven characteristics are considered to be the most defining of authentic Mapo doufu. The authentic form of the dish is increasingly easier to find outside China today, but usually in Sichuanese restaurants that do not adapt the dish for non-Sichuanese tastes.

In the west, the dish is often adulterated, with its spiciness severely toned down to widen its appeal. This happens even in Chinese restaurants, commonly those not specializing in Sichuan (Szechuan) cuisine. In American Chinese cuisine the dish is often made without meat to

appeal to vegetarians, with very little spice, a thick sweet-and-sour sauce, and added vegetables, a stark contrast from the authentic. Vegetarians can often still enjoy the powerful taste of the authentic dish, however, as it can easily be made without meat at all (and simply just tofu) while not toning down the spices; this version is technically referred to as Mala doufu although this name is not always well-known.