Mapo Tofu “ish” – Quick and Easy

Mapo Tofu is one of the popular Chinese dishes in Japan. The dish contains Tofu and meat (normally beef or pork mince) quickly simmered in a spicy sauce. It originated from Sichuan province, from which you can easily imagine that the dish is very hot and spicy! Although the Japanese version is much milder, it still has some kick and we love eating it with rice.

It is very easy and quick to cook, well…, if you already have the 2 important ingredients in your kitchen – Doubanjang (fermented broad been and chilli paste) and Dou-chi (fermented black bean paste), which make this dish “Mapo”.

Yes…, I know some Asian stores sell them…, however if you are like me and do not cook much Siuchuan food, these 2 jars will be sitting and doing nothing in the kitchen cabinet for a next 3 months… So I asked myself “Can I replace them with something that I already have to make Mapo Tofu- ish dish??”.

The Answer is YES. In this recipe, I use very common Japanese ingredients – Miso, Soy Sauce, Cooking and Chilli, which gives a depth and spiciness to the dish. I also add a lot of vegetables, so that this will be a complete dish especially when you serve it on rice (like me serving it on brown rice in the picture).

For meat, I like using Kangaroo mince as I love its leanness and sustainability in Australia, but you can use any meat you like. Beef or pork mince will be lovely. Same with vegetables. Although I recommend Daikon Radish (or normal while radish) as the freshness and crunchiness works in this dish well.

If you need something quick, easy, and something different, please try this recipe. Hope you like it.

 

Ingredients (Serving for 4):

350g Kangaroo mince (or any meat you like, such as beef or pork mince)

1 clove of Garlic – minced

1cm cubes of Ginger – minced

1 Red eye Chili (or as many as you like) – minced

1 Onion – diced

1 Zucchini – diced

½ Red Capsicum – diced

200g Daikon Radish – about 10cm long – diced

200g Silken Tofu – cut into about 2cm cubes

1 Teaspoon of Corn Starch or Potato Starch

½ Teaspoon of Sesame Oil

2 Spring Onions – finely chopped

 

Sauce A – combined all together

1 Tablespoon of Miso

½ Tablespoon of Soy Sauce

½ Tablespoon of Sugar

½ Teaspoon of Chili Powder

 

Sauce B – combined all together

150ml Water

1.5 Tablespoon of Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon of Cooking Sake

1 Tablespoon of Miso

 

Method:

1. In a frying pan, heat a small amount of oil (not included in the ingredients’ list above) on medium/high heat. Stir- fry kangaroo mince, garlic, ginger and red eye chilli, while breaking up the mince with a spatula or wooden spoon. In order to bring the kangaroo’s best flavour, please stir fry it very well. When the mince starts becoming brown, oil from the mince will come out. Even though the mince has become brown and looks cooked, please keep cooking until the oil has disappeared.
2. Add Sauce A and cook all together for about 1 minute or until the mince is well coated by the sauce. If the sauce starts burning in the frying pan, add s splash of water to it (not included in the ingredients’ list above).
3. Add onion, zucchini, capsicum and daikon radish to the frying pan. Stir fry them for about 2 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent.
4. Add Sauce B to the frying and and bring it to the boil.
5. Place the tofu into the frying pan. Stir and cook the tofu gently in the sauce. Please work gently not to break down the tofu. Simmer it for about 2-3 minutes on medium heat.
6. Take 3 tablespoons of the sauce out from the frying pan to a small bowl. Add corn starch to the bowl and whisk it until the corn starch has completely dissolved. Add the mixture back to the frying pan and mix it into the sauce gently. Cook it for another 1-2 minutes until the sauce becomes thickened. Turn the heat off and add sesame oil.
7. Top with spring onions and serve while hot. You can serve it on your choice of rice.

 

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The Easiest Ever Japanese – Agedashi Tofu (No Dashi Stock Required)

A super easy Agedashi Tofu Recipe. This Agedashi Tofu can be made without Japanese Dashi Stock. When you are in a hurry but you would like to impress someone, it is a good recipe. I think it is a good introduction to Japanese cooking. Hope you like it.

Ingredients (Serve for 4 people)

500g Momen or Classic Tofu

200ml Water

50ml Soy Sauce

50ml Mirin

20ml Cooking Sake

5g Dried Bonito Flakes

2 Tablespoons of Corn Flour (or Plain Flour if you do not have Corn Flour)

Oil for shallow frying

Topping Options

4 pinches of Dried Bonito Flakes

Shredded Daikon Radish

Spring Onions – finely chopped

Method:

1. Cut tofu half to make it 1.5 – 2 cm thick. Then cut each piece into 8 (Total 16 pieces of tofu).
2. On a flat plate or a chopping board, place 3-4 layers of paper towels and lay the tofu on it. Place another 3-4 layers of paper towel on top of the tofu, and then place a flat plate or a light chopping board on top of it. Leave it for 15 minutes. This process is to remove excess water from the tofu. Please do not leave it too long, otherwise the tofu will be too dry.
3. Now we make the sauce. Place water, soy sauce, mirin and sake into a sauce pan and bring it to the boil. Once it is boiled, turn the heat to medium and add bonito flakes to the pan. Keep simmering for a minute. Turn off the hat and put it aside.
4. Now we shallow-fry the tofu. Heat oil to 180 ◦C. Remove the tofu from the paper towels. Coat the tofu with corn flour. Shallow-fry the tofu until the tofu becomes crispy and lightly browned (about 2 minutes each side).
5. Remove the tofu from the oil and drain excess oil on a wire rack or paper towels.
6. Now come back to the sauce. Strain the sauce to separate the sauce and the bonito flakes. Keep the bonito flakes.
7. Pour ¼ of sauce on a serving plate. Place 4 pieces of the tofu in the sauce. Top with the cooked bonito flakes from Method 6, along with your choice of toppings.

Turkey & Tofu Tsukune (Japanese Meatballs) with Soy and Balsamic Sauce

Easy and healthy Japanese Meatball (Tsukune) recipe. Tsukune is normally made from Chicken, but I used Turkey for this recipe as I like the distinctive flavour. Celery leaves give freshness to it and tofu makes the texture fluffy and light.

For the sauce, using Balsamic Vinegar is not really traditional in Japanese cuisine, but I really believe in the combination of Balsamic and Soy Sauce. When Balsamic Vinegar is cooked, the sweetness comes out and that really matches with Soy Sauce. Hope you like it too.

Oh, by the way, my favourite sauce is Soy Sauce and my husband’s is Balsamic Vinegar hehe 🙂

 

Ingredients (8 small meatballs)

For Meatballs

150g Turkey Mince

100g Silken Tofu

The top of 2 stalks (including leaves) of Celery – finely chopped

½ small Onion – finely chopped

1 clove of Garlic – minced

1cm cube of Ginger – minced

½ Teaspoon of Sesame Oil

A pinch of Salt

2 Teaspoons of Corn Flour

For Sauce

2 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon of Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tablespoon of Sugar

 

Method:

1. Place all ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl and knead them with your hand. Keep kneading until the mixture becomes pale in colour and sticky.
2. Heat a small amount of oil (not included in the ingredients’ list above) in a fry pan to medium/high.
3. We use 2 tablespoons to make meatballs. Scoop a spoonful of the meatball mixture with one tablespoon and make a small ball shape using two tablespoons. Place the ball in the fry pan and push it down in the centre to make a 6-7 cm circle in diameter. Repeat this to all of the meat mixture.
4. Pan-fry the meatballs for 2-3 minutes or until the bottom of the meatballs becomes golden and crispy. Flip them and cook the other side for another 2-3 minutes or until they become golden and crispy.
5. Meanwhile, mix all ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and put it aside.
6. Once the meatballs become golden and crispy, add the sauce into the fry pan. Keep cooking for a minute or until the sauce is reduced and becomes sticky and shiny. While cooking, scoop the sauce in the fry pan and pour it over the meatballs.
7. Transfer the meatballs and the sauce to a serving plate. Serve while they are hot.

Snow Soup with Tofu – Tofu no Mizore Jiru

Serving : 2

ingredients:

10-12cm of Daikon (Chinese Radish) – grated

150g Silken Tofu – cut into 4

A small amount of Broccoli – cut into small size

400cc of Water

1&1/3 Teaspoon of Dashi Powdwe

1 Teaspoon of Soy Sauce

Katsuo Bushi/Hana Gatsuo (Bonito Flake) + a small amount for decoration

Method:

1. Boil Water in a small pot. Reduce to low heat and add Dashi Powder and Soy Sauce.

2. Add Broccoli. Once it is cooked, add Tofu.

3. Once Tofu is warmed up, add Daikon and Bonito Flakes and stir them gently. Tofu does not need to be cooked too long as Tofu is already edible and it looses silkiness.

4. It is ready to serve when the soup is warmed up. It a small amount of Bonito Flakes on top for decoration.