Italian Mapo Tofu with Anchovies. Mapo tofu is one of the top ten famous Chinese dishes and enjoys a high popularity among not only Chinese people but also many western countries. At the very beginning, Mapo tofu is named after its creator. It is recorded that there is a couple who own a restaurant mainly selling vegetarian dishes.

Add more until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. Taste a piece of tofu with some sauce. I got a large jug of anchovy sauce (kknari). you can have Italian Mapo Tofu with Anchovies using 14 ingredients and 7 steps. Here is how you cook that.

Ingredients of Italian Mapo Tofu with Anchovies

Prepare 1 block of Silken tofu.
You need 100 grams of Ground meat (pork and beef mix).
Prepare 1/4 of Onion (or new spring onion).
Prepare 3 of Asparagus.
Prepare 3 of Anchovy filets.
Prepare 1 slice of Bacon.
Prepare 200 ml of Water.
It's 2 tbsp of White wine.
You need 1 1/2 tsp of Consommé stock granules.
You need 1 of to 2 large cloves Garlic.
Prepare 1 of Red chili pepper.
You need 1 of Black pepper and extra virgin olive oil.
It's 1 of Katakuriko.
It's 1 of Fresh or dried herbs such as basil or parsley.

This mapo tofu recipe is the true blue, authentic real deal—the spicy, tongue-numbing, rice-is-absolutely-not-optional mapo tofu that you get in the restaurants! As a tofu lover, Mapo Tofu is a huge favourite of mine. This Sichuan classic is a dish of melt-in-the-mouth silken tofu, covered in a fiery red, earthy, slightly tongue numbing chilli sauce, made with Doubanjiang, the Sichuan chilli bean paste. Plain white rice is a must - nothing else is going to allow.

Italian Mapo Tofu with Anchovies step by step

Slice the tofu in half horizontally, wrap in paper towels and drain the excess water for 20 to 30 minutes. The photo shows the tofu wrapped in paper towels and a kitchen towel. If you want to cut some time, microwave the tofu to drain the water faster..
Discard the hard ends of the asparagus, peel the bottom with a vegetable peeler, and cut into 5 cm pieces. Cut the bacon and onion into 1 cm squares. Roughly chop the garlic cloves..
Put some olive oil in a frying pan, add the garlic and the de-seeded chili pepper and saute until fragrant. Add the anchovies and saute while smashing them up, to transfer the flavor to the oil..
Add the ground meat, and when it's browned, add the onion, bacon and asparagus and saute. Add the white wine and allow the alcohol to evaporate..
Add the water and the soup stock granules, then break up the tofu into chunks and put in the pan. Taste, and adjust the seasoning. Dissolve some katakuriko in an equal amount of water, and add to the sauce to thicken..
Turn the heat off and add the black pepper and plenty of herbs. Stir gently so as not to crush the tofu, and it's done..
It's also delicious if you add some roughly chopped tomatoes. If you do so, add a bit more soup stock granules to adjust the flavor. You can use firm instead of silken tofu, and add broccoli instead of tomato..

Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐) is a fiery Sichuan pork and tofu stir-fry with the hallmark málà(麻辣) balance of tongue tingling and spicy. Mapo Tofu is a really quick and easy weeknight takeout dish, made right in your own kitchen. This dish is pork, tofu, and mushrooms in a spicy sauce made from black bean paste, chili garlic paste, Sichuan peppercorns, and spices. Mapo tofu can also be found in restaurants in other Chinese provinces as well as in Japan and Korea where the flavor is adapted to local tastes. In the west, the dish is often greatly changed, with its spiciness severely toned down to widen its appeal.