Hi there,
One of my husband’s all time favourite is Mabo Tofu, which are mince meat stewed with tofu in a mean szechuan mabo tofu sauce. The problem of actually cooking it from scratch is to get all the ingredients right and painstakingly strike a right flavorful balance.
The distinct szechuan pepper flavor can be either come off as too strong or lack of that kick. Or either too salty or too spicy.
So to avoid any kitchen disaster, I have tried out multiple brands of mabo tofu packet sauce, which is so convenient, and great for busy mummies. After a few tries, I finally found the best Mabo Tofu Sauce! at least to me and especially to my husband as he is quite noisy when it comes to mabo tofu. π
You will be able to find it in most supermarkets and the brand is Lee Kum Kee, it comes in either bottle or in packet form which is good for 1 time cooking. It only cost $1.50 +/- during promotion time, so I usually stock up when they have it.
This is also a very quick recipe and you can cook it under 15 mins. Who wouldn’t like a delicious meal that is quick and also very easy on the wallet. π
Ingredients needed to feed 3 hungry adults :
- Mince Pork x 1 pack (you can use chicken mince or beef mince, but I find pork mince is the juicest of all)
- Silken Tofu x 1 pack
- Garlice x 4 cloves, minced (as I like garlic, I tend to use 1 whole garlic)
- Lee Kum Kee Mabo Tofu Sauce x 1 packet
- Chilli powder or flakes or fresh chillis (optional, if you want to up the level of spiciness)
- Spring onions & corriander x 2 bunches each
- Chinese Cooking Wine or Japanese Mirin (Japanese sweet cooking wine) x 1 table spoon
Directions :
(1) Chopped up the garlic and fresh chillis into fine pieces or use a dicer (I use this really useful kitchen gadget which can diced up vegetables in secs.)
(2) Drizzle some oil in a non stick pan and sauteed the mince pork until fragrant under high heat.
(3) Mix the chopped garlic with the minced pork
(4) Pour in the mabo tofu sauce to fry for a further 1 min.
(5) After dicing the tofu in cubes, mix it to the meat mixture.
(6) Drizzle some Chinese cooking wine or Japanese cooking wine. If you opt to just pour in regular cooking wine, you might need to add in a teaspoon of sugar to draw out the mabo tofu flavor and also balance out the spiciness of this dish.
(7) Sprinkle chopped spring onions and corriander as the final touch so that the freshness of these greens will enhance the overall flavor of the dish.
(8) Try cooking this as a main or side dish, or make mabo tofu rice bowl by scooping it on some hot steam rice & Tuck In! π
What I like about this sauce is that it can be quite versatile, besides using this Lee Kum Kee sauce for Mabo Tofu, I also use it for some fushion dish. I used Japanese tuna sashimi or maguro, marinated with this sauce and throw in some cream cheese cubes, and make it an appetizer, my family loves it.Very savory and all you need is just about 2 teaspoon of the sauce and the dish will taste so good & No cooking require!
Try using this recipe as toppings for dry instant noodles or spaghetti as well, great with any carbo dishes.
Please do try it out, and drop me a comment if you have any other ideas to use this sauce.
Happy Cooking!
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Cheers,
Dawn
Hi Dawn,
I love your quick & simple recipes!
May I check for the chinese cooking wine? What is the name in chinese? Any brands to recommend?
Thank you
Hi Angel
Thank you! So happy that you like the recipes π
For the chinese cooking wine, the chinese name is η΄Ήθθ±ιι , actually that is the only chinese wine I like to use in my cooking, because it has a very robust flavor and sweetness that instantly perk up the whole flavor of the dish. Its cheap too, so that is a big plus. I don’t really have a specific brand, and has been trying a few brands, but to me, the expensive & cheap one taste the same if I use it for cooking, so I always opt for the cheaper one, like $3 per bottle.
If you want a more subtle delicate flavor but also want some sweetness, try Japanese sweet cooking wine – mirin. I got mine in Daiso for $2, I think other brands out there, like those in Fairprice Japanese section is selling at $3.50. Those are great for cooking too.
Will come up with more simple & quick recipes, hope you can also try that out at your home too. π
Cheers,
Dawn
Hi Angel
By the way, you can check out this post which has the photo of the chinese cooking wine π
http://singaporesupermarketrecipes.com/chinese-cooking-wine-the-low-down-of-hua-diao-jiu
Cheers,
Dawn