My favorite food

Ma Po ToFu
Nicole Chen
China
Ma Po ToFu is my favorite food. It is easy to make and can go without meat, and it tastes just great, spicy and hot! As I used to be a picky eater, my mother had a hard time pressing me to eat more. However, once there was Ma Po ToFu, my mother would simply leave me alone, because I ate more than I should. How to make it?
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ pound pork, minced (You can omit it for a vegetarian version.)
2 tablespoons chopped scallions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
1 tablespoon Chinese chile sauce (crushed chiles in oil) or crushed dried red chile pepper
1 tablespoon ground Sichuan red peppercorn
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 pound firm ToFu, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 teaspoons cornstarch
Step 1: Heat a wok, then heat the oil in it. Brown the pork, then remove and reserve it.
Sep 2: Stir-fry the scallions, garlic, ginger, chile sauce, ToFu, and the reserved pork.
Step 3: Stir gently to coat the ToFu with the liquid, then cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 3-5 minutes.
Step 4: If desired, thicken the liquid by adding cornstarch (dissolved in 2 tablespoons water to make a paste). Garnish with more ground Sichuan pepper to taste. Serve with rice.
Yield: 2 servings.
Heat scale: Hot
Tip: Sichuan red peppercorns or “huajiao” (flower pepper) give Sichuan food its distinctive state. Cayenne or red chili peppers are not interchangeable with them.