Mapo Tofu is one of my favorite Chinese dishes. It’s so fast and easy it can easily be cooked as a weeknight meal! If you like full flavor and a little bit of spice keep reading.
Making Mapo Tofu Gluten Free
Traditionally Sichuan style maps tofu would be made with Chinese Chili Bean paste or Doubanjiang. This paste has fermented soybeans and hot chilies, however most of the sauces I have seen also have soy sauce or wheat as an ingredient. So to make this gluten free we’re going to need a substitute.
I’m using a Korean fermented red chili paste and Chinese fermented black beans soaked in water. The flavor is amazing and the Korean chili paste gives the sauce that fantastic red color of a traditional Mapo tofu.
The tofu
Soft tofu is the right tofu for this recipe. To prep it all you need to do is pull it of the package, drain it, cube it and boil it for about 10 min. Then gently pull it out of the boiling water and set it aside until you are ready to add it to the sauce.
Gluten Free Mapo Tofu
Course: MainCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes20
minutesThis gluten free mapo tofu is an easy week night meal. Serve over white or brown rice, or if you are going low carb it also tastes great on its own!
Ingredients
14 oz package of soft tofu
3/4 of a cup of ground pork (you can use less if you like)
1 tablespoon Korean fermented red pepper paste
2 tablespoons of tamari soy sauce
1 tablespoon of dried fermented black beans soaked in warm water
1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons of water
1 1/2 cup of chicken stock
1 package frozen peas and carrots
5 garlic cloves minced
2 tablespoons of minced ginger
1/4 cup of sliced green onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Directions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil with about 2 tablespoons of salt. Add in the cubed soft tofu and simmer for about 10 min. Gently remove the tofu from the water and set aside.
- Heat a wok or dutch oven with oil. Add in the ground pork and cook until cooked thru and just starting to brown.
- Add in the ginger and cook for 30 seconds
- Add in the garlic and red chili paste and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add in the chicken stock, soaked fermented black beans and soy sauce and stir.
- Gently add in the tofu and stir carefully so you don’t break the tofu cubes.
- Simmer for 7-10 minutes
- Add in the frozen peas and carrots and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes
- Add in the cornstarch stir gently.
- Finish by adding the green onions and cilantro
