Ma Po Tofu
Ma Po Tofu
We are all about a quick stir fry for a weeknight dinner in my house. This is my homemade, healthy version of a favorite takeout item, ma po sauce. It goes perfectly with rice and only takes about 30 minutes to make!
Ingredients
- 12 shiitake mushrooms, (dried)
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon miso
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce or gluten-free soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons oil of choice
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 3 scallions, (thinly sliced on a diagonal, white and green parts separated)
- 2 cloves garlic, (minced)
- 1 inch fresh ginger root, (peeled, minced)
- 1 block tofu, (drained, but into 1-inch cubes)
- 1 cup green peas, (defrosted if frozen)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch, (dissolved in 2 tablespoons water)
- Steamed jasmine rice
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine shiitake mushrooms and 1 cup warm water.
- Soak for 15-20 minutes, then lift out mushrooms and transfer to a cutting board, squeezing as much moisture out as you can.
- Reserve the soaking water, strain it, and discard stems, then finely chop shiitake mushroom caps.
- Add miso, sriracha, wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar to a bowl of reserved soaking water, stirring to incorporate.
- Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat, then add oil of choice and swirl to coat.
- Add minced mushrooms and stir fry until mushrooms are crispy (about 2 minutes),
- Reduce heat to medium and add hoisin sauce, white parts of scallions, garlic, and ginger, then stir fry until fragrant (about 1 minute).
- Pour in mushroom mixture, then once liquid starts to boil reduce to medium-low heat so it gently bubbles. The liquid in the pan should now be a nice red color.
- Gently add tofu cubes and peas, careful not to move around too much so they don't break up.
- Cook until tofu absorbs sauce (about 2-3 minutes), spooning some sauce over tofu cubes to help coat.
- Carefully push tofu to the sides of the pan to create a small well at the center, then stir in the cornstarch mixture.
- Cook until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 1 minute).
- Serve over steamed rice and garnish with scallion greens.
