Speaking of Mapo Tofu, countless memories pop up, reminding me of distant memories from my student days.

Mapo Tofu is also one of the top ten classic Sichuan dishes in "Chinese cuisine".

As for the reason why it is on the list, it is because this dish combines spicy, spicy, fresh, fragrant, hot, green, tender and crispy. It fully demonstrates the characteristics of spicy Sichuan cuisine. It has also traveled across the ocean and become an international dish.

Famous dishes.

The first impression that Mapo Tofu gave me was hemp.

"Sesame" is the soul of this dish. Sesame comes from sesame oil and pepper powder. Without hemp, it would not taste good.

This "hemp" is not Mapo's "hemp", and Mapo's story must be told well.

It is said that during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a restaurant in Chengdu, which was run and managed by the proprietress. She had pockmarks on her face and was known as "Chen Mapo".

Chen Mapo had a unique set of cooking skills for cooking tofu. The tofu she cooked was unique in color, aroma and flavor, and was deeply loved by people. Her homemade roasted tofu was called "Chen Mapo Tofu".

It’s called Mapo Tofu for short.

The first time I had this dish was in the university cafeteria.

At that time, I saw the white and red half basin in the canteen window, with green onions sprinkled on it. The unique smell wafted into my nostrils, and my appetite suddenly increased.

I thought: What a unique tofu, what a strange combination, what a tempting taste, I must try it.

After making the soup, I sat down at the table with my classmates and hurriedly took a bite of the mapo tofu, but I didn't want my tongue to be directly hurt by its numbing and spicy taste.

Quickly stick out your tongue to touch the fresh air, and drink some soup to calm down your shock.

My classmate Da Luo, who was dining with me, is an authentic Sichuanese, and his family also owns a hot pot restaurant. When he saw my predicament, he knew that this must be my first time eating Mapo tofu and I was not used to the spicy taste.

So Da Luo started to tell me the story of Mapo Tofu and how delicious this dish is.

After listening to it, I had a general understanding of this dish, but I still couldn't get used to such a spicy taste, so I had no choice but to throw away my first serving of Mapo Tofu.

Later, I slowly learned to eat Sichuan food, and got used to mildly spicy, slightly numb, and occasionally medium-spicy hot pot.

I never dare to try spicy or abnormally spicy things, because life is more important.

After leaving Sichuan for more than ten years, I found that I have a deeper affection for Mapo Tofu, and I have something akin to nostalgia for spicy food.