Adapted from The Woks of Life
Total time: 30 mins
Ingredients
Makes 2 big servings – 59g protein, 21g fat, 8g carbs
- 1 package tofu – recommend silken or soft
- 1 lb ground beef/pork/chicken – preferably 90/10 or less fat, but not necessary; see directions
- 2+ tbsp minced ginger, or a 2" segment – yes that much
- 6-8 cloves of garlic, minced – yes that many
- 2+ tbsp spicy douban jiang
- 1/4 tsp ground sichuan peppercorn, or 2 tsp whole sichuan peppercorns
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth, or water
- Light soy sauce, dark soy sauce
- Shaoxing wine – ideal to maximize flavour, but not mandatory
- Chinkiang black vinegar – ideal to maximize flavour, but not mandatory
- Corn starch + water
- (optional) 1/4 tsp sugar
- (optional) 1-2 dried chile de arbol, cut into 1" slices and deseeded – if you want it spicier
Finish with
- 2 scallions, diced
- sesame oil
Directions
Prep
- Mince your ginger using the smashing technique
- Mince your garlic using the smashing technique or a garlic press
- Cut your tofu into cubes
- If using whole sichuan peppercorns, grind them down to a fine powder using a mortar and pestle
- If you’re a try-hard: remove any shiny black seeds in your peppercorns before grinding. Apparently these are very bitter, I wouldn’t know, I’ve always removed them.
- In a bowl, make your corn starch slurry with 1 tsp corn starch + 1 tbsp water
Cooking
- Recommend using a saute pan or dutch oven for surface area and height
- Brown your meat –> a good initial sear is enough, and meat should be fully cooked by the end
- Drain however much excess rendered fat you’d like using a paper towel, leaving some fat to fry the rest of the ingredients
- Add in the 2 tbsp douban jiang –> fry it a bit to heat it up and extract some of its oil
- Stir in the minced ginger, minced garlic, and arbols if using –> fry for 30-60s or until fragrant
- Stir in the ground sichuan peppercorn –> fry for ~30s (DO NOT LET THIS BURN)
- Add in the 1 cup chicken stock or water + 2 tbsp shaoxing wine
- Add 1/2 tbsp light soy + 1/2 tbsp dark soy, plus more to taste
- Add 1/4 tsp sugar, plus more to taste, if using
- Bring this to a simmer
- Add in 2 tsp black vinegar, if using
- Stir in corn starch slurry
- Stir in tofu –> let the tofu warm up and let the slurry thicken everything, 3-5 mins
- Finish with scallions and sesame oil, and serve with rice