Mapo tofu is a famous traditional dish with Sichuan characteristics, which is famous for its spicy and delicious flavor. This dish has a unique production process, which combines the essence of Sichuan cuisine and shows the Sichuan people's love and innovative spirit for food. However, although Mapo tofu enjoys a high reputation in China's food industry, it does not belong to the category of national intangible food production skills.

Early Mapo tofu was made of vegetable oil and yellow beef. The cooking method is to fry a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a pot, then add a handful of chopped pepper, then add beef, and cook until it is simply added with lobster sauce. Then add tofu, add a little water shovel and mix well. Finally, cover the lid and dry the soup with a small torch. Sprinkle pepper powder before cooking.

In the 1960s, when making Mapo tofu, peanut oil was used as oil, and beef was not limited to cattle and pigs. Stir-fry meat, add bean paste, fermented soybean, red pepper powder, soy sauce, salt and sugar, stir-fry until fragrant, add tofu slices and soup stock, boil, add onion, ginger and garlic, thicken with water, add pepper powder and sesame oil, and take out. The ingredients and processes have changed, and the taste emphasizes hemp, spicy, spicy and salty.

Allusions and legends

At the end of Qing Dynasty, there was a small restaurant next to Wanfuqiao Wharf in Chengdu. Its boss-in-law, Wen, is beautiful and white, while her husband, Chen Chunfu, is called pockmarked by her neighbors because of his pockmarked face. Therefore, Wen was called Chen Mapo by posthumous title. This shop is famous for serving delicious tofu, so people named this dish "Mapo Tofu".

In the first year of Tongzhi (1862), Chen Mapo received a group of dockers and porters. There are not many dishes in the shop. Just before closing time, another group of people ordered a hot and cheap dish. Chen Mapo cooked a fragrant and spicy tofu with the remaining tofu and minced beef, as well as raw materials such as watercress and lobster sauce.

This group of people were full of praise and shouted happily after eating. Later, this dish gradually became the specialty of the Chen family, attracting many people to taste it. Because this kind of tofu is hemp and spicy, the proprietress is also called Chen Mapo. Therefore, this tofu dish is called Chen Mapo tofu.