Introduction:
Ma Po tofu is a great Chinese tofu dish which is made with tofu, ground meat and green peas in a very spicy sauce. It is very popular and one of the most ordered tofu dishes in Chinese restaurants in America. It is ideally served over steamed rice but some people like to eat it with noodles as well.
Recipe：
Ingredients：
• 100 gm ground meat,
• 1 package (400 gm) of tofu, drained and cut into cubes,
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch, divided,
• ½ tbsp fermented black beans, rinsed and mashed,
• ½ tbsp chili paste with garlic,
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper,
• 2 tbsp soy sauce,
• 3 crushed cloves of garlic,
• ½ tsp grated or minced fresh ginger,
• 1 cup of frozen green peas,
• ½ cup + 2 tbsp of chicken broth, divided,
• 1 tbsp oil,
• Diced greens of spring onion for garnish.
Steps:
1. Combine ground meat with 1 tsp of cornstarch and 2 tbsp of chicken broth, stir until well mixed and set aside for a while.
2. Combine mashed black beans, chili paste, cayenne pepper, soy sauce, garlic and ginger in a separate bowl, stir and set aside.
3. Put a skillet over medium heat with oil in it. Add in meat mixture, stir and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until well browned.
4. Stir in black bean mixture along with tofu and green peas. Pour in chicken broth and increase heat to bring to a boil.
5. Dissolve 2 tbsp of cornstarch in 2 tbsp of water and stir into skillet. Reduce heat to medium again and cook while stirring continuously for 2 to 3 minutes or until gravy is thickened.
Garnish with diced greens of spring onions and serve hot along with steamed rice or noodles and enjoy.
Tips:
1. Vegetarians may omit meat and increase the amount of tofu.
2. If you can’t stand it to be too spicy, either substitute it with sweet pepper or omit it at all.
Increase the amount of cornstarch if you like gravy to be thicker.
After looking through the recipe, you may say: “ is it authentic mapo tofu? If not, I don’t want to try it at all.” I promise it is authentic, but does it really important to care about the authenticity?
whether be authentic or not, it does not matter!
Authentic? No, it is stereotype!
Lin Yutang's essay "Smoke and Fragrance" shows his appreciation of smell and his reflection on human olfactory sense. The anthropologist David E. Sutton did not argue that smells can awaken a general sense of what is around us. For example, influenced by racism, white Americans always believe that black people have a unique taste regardless of whether they are exposed to it or not. Therefore, even though Chinese culture is so long, westerners can always smell the unique "smell" of China. Over time, due to the deterioration of China's national conditions at that time and the different quality of the Chinese community in the United States, this grandiose description gradually became a stereotype in the eyes of native Americans, and they no longer recognized the real taste of Chinese food.
What do you think of Chinese food?
Although the number of Chinese restaurants in San Francisco has grown, and some have grown to elaborate, multi-story restaurants, the impression that Chinese food is oily, disgusting and unpalatable has long been ingrained in our mind, due to the influence of earlier missionaries' words in China.
Food is the mirror of culture
However, food is often regarded as the identity mark of a cultural group, and people use food to express the cultural identity of the group. - after long-term survival test, Chinese formed a first two view of diet alone, which emphasizes the harmony in the ecological ideas, food for health nutrition food concept with five reconcile, emphasis on diet and the nature harmonious unification, edible food and harmonization between aesthetic appreciation, pay attention to take food color, aroma, taste, shape, and raise hand in photograph reflect, Not only meet the physiological needs of people, but also meet the needs of people's heart and emotion. In short, Chinese food culture not only pays attention to the nature of filling the stomach of food, but also pursues the development of food taste. More importantly, it is the cultural artistic conception experienced in the process of eating. Through tasting dishes and understanding their birth background, customers can feel the unique values, aesthetics and emotional resonance of each dish.
Sichuan cuisine is influencing your appetite, profoundly and significantly
Sichuan cuisine appeals to American diners for its rich flavors. Far from putting us off, the spiciness in Sichuan food has become the biggest selling point. The arrival of Sichuan food reminds us of the strange and wonderful Chinese food. The promotion of Sichuan food also reflects the changing tastes of our food, from the bland and mild taste buds known to the pursuit of spicy Sichuan food, our tastes are constantly changing.(know more about Sichuan Cuisine, click this link removed
So-called “lack of authenticity” is a way of developing and innovating
While one may well question the authenticity of Chinese food produced overseas, Chinese food, like the food of any other culture, is a product of different origins, different social classes that make food, and constant change even within China itself. Once this is taken into account, the concept of authenticity is not so clear.
"As long as the main body is traditional Chinese cooking skills, no matter how fine-tuned the taste is, Chinese dishes will not lose their traditional charm, but will only attract more and more American diners.
After all, inclusiveness is the essence of Sichuan cuisine. The development of Sichuan cuisine should try its best to adapt to the needs of consumers in different periods and regions, and cook for the people of the world and make the food they like. The mutual benefit between the originator and the receiver is the long-term solution for the internationalization of Sichuan cuisine. In this sense, the evolution direction of Sichuan cuisine should be on the one hand to occupy more markets, sichuan cuisine enterprises in foreign territory to expand soil; On the other hand, the integration of Sichuan cuisine enterprises into the world, prosperity of the local economy, benefit the local community.
Ma Po tofu is a great Chinese tofu dish which is made with tofu, ground meat and green peas in a very spicy sauce. It is very popular and one of the most ordered tofu dishes in Chinese restaurants in America. It is ideally served over steamed rice but some people like to eat it with noodles as well.
Recipe：
Ingredients：
• 100 gm ground meat,
• 1 package (400 gm) of tofu, drained and cut into cubes,
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch, divided,
• ½ tbsp fermented black beans, rinsed and mashed,
• ½ tbsp chili paste with garlic,
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper,
• 2 tbsp soy sauce,
• 3 crushed cloves of garlic,
• ½ tsp grated or minced fresh ginger,
• 1 cup of frozen green peas,
• ½ cup + 2 tbsp of chicken broth, divided,
• 1 tbsp oil,
• Diced greens of spring onion for garnish.
Steps:
1. Combine ground meat with 1 tsp of cornstarch and 2 tbsp of chicken broth, stir until well mixed and set aside for a while.
2. Combine mashed black beans, chili paste, cayenne pepper, soy sauce, garlic and ginger in a separate bowl, stir and set aside.
3. Put a skillet over medium heat with oil in it. Add in meat mixture, stir and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until well browned.
4. Stir in black bean mixture along with tofu and green peas. Pour in chicken broth and increase heat to bring to a boil.
5. Dissolve 2 tbsp of cornstarch in 2 tbsp of water and stir into skillet. Reduce heat to medium again and cook while stirring continuously for 2 to 3 minutes or until gravy is thickened.
Garnish with diced greens of spring onions and serve hot along with steamed rice or noodles and enjoy.
Tips:
1. Vegetarians may omit meat and increase the amount of tofu.
2. If you can’t stand it to be too spicy, either substitute it with sweet pepper or omit it at all.
Increase the amount of cornstarch if you like gravy to be thicker.
After looking through the recipe, you may say: “ is it authentic mapo tofu? If not, I don’t want to try it at all.” I promise it is authentic, but does it really important to care about the authenticity?
whether be authentic or not, it does not matter!
Authentic? No, it is stereotype!
Lin Yutang's essay "Smoke and Fragrance" shows his appreciation of smell and his reflection on human olfactory sense. The anthropologist David E. Sutton did not argue that smells can awaken a general sense of what is around us. For example, influenced by racism, white Americans always believe that black people have a unique taste regardless of whether they are exposed to it or not. Therefore, even though Chinese culture is so long, westerners can always smell the unique "smell" of China. Over time, due to the deterioration of China's national conditions at that time and the different quality of the Chinese community in the United States, this grandiose description gradually became a stereotype in the eyes of native Americans, and they no longer recognized the real taste of Chinese food.
What do you think of Chinese food?
Although the number of Chinese restaurants in San Francisco has grown, and some have grown to elaborate, multi-story restaurants, the impression that Chinese food is oily, disgusting and unpalatable has long been ingrained in our mind, due to the influence of earlier missionaries' words in China.
Food is the mirror of culture
However, food is often regarded as the identity mark of a cultural group, and people use food to express the cultural identity of the group. - after long-term survival test, Chinese formed a first two view of diet alone, which emphasizes the harmony in the ecological ideas, food for health nutrition food concept with five reconcile, emphasis on diet and the nature harmonious unification, edible food and harmonization between aesthetic appreciation, pay attention to take food color, aroma, taste, shape, and raise hand in photograph reflect, Not only meet the physiological needs of people, but also meet the needs of people's heart and emotion. In short, Chinese food culture not only pays attention to the nature of filling the stomach of food, but also pursues the development of food taste. More importantly, it is the cultural artistic conception experienced in the process of eating. Through tasting dishes and understanding their birth background, customers can feel the unique values, aesthetics and emotional resonance of each dish.
Sichuan cuisine is influencing your appetite, profoundly and significantly
Sichuan cuisine appeals to American diners for its rich flavors. Far from putting us off, the spiciness in Sichuan food has become the biggest selling point. The arrival of Sichuan food reminds us of the strange and wonderful Chinese food. The promotion of Sichuan food also reflects the changing tastes of our food, from the bland and mild taste buds known to the pursuit of spicy Sichuan food, our tastes are constantly changing.(know more about Sichuan Cuisine, click this link removed
So-called “lack of authenticity” is a way of developing and innovating
While one may well question the authenticity of Chinese food produced overseas, Chinese food, like the food of any other culture, is a product of different origins, different social classes that make food, and constant change even within China itself. Once this is taken into account, the concept of authenticity is not so clear.
"As long as the main body is traditional Chinese cooking skills, no matter how fine-tuned the taste is, Chinese dishes will not lose their traditional charm, but will only attract more and more American diners.
After all, inclusiveness is the essence of Sichuan cuisine. The development of Sichuan cuisine should try its best to adapt to the needs of consumers in different periods and regions, and cook for the people of the world and make the food they like. The mutual benefit between the originator and the receiver is the long-term solution for the internationalization of Sichuan cuisine. In this sense, the evolution direction of Sichuan cuisine should be on the one hand to occupy more markets, sichuan cuisine enterprises in foreign territory to expand soil; On the other hand, the integration of Sichuan cuisine enterprises into the world, prosperity of the local economy, benefit the local community.
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