Early Look: the Complete History of Mapo Tofu
Added 2025-01-07 04:19:20 +0000 UTCSo historical Mapo Tofu used to be... different.
If you're familiar with the canonical Sichuan variety of the dish, you know the usual suspects: minced beef, Sichuan chili bean paste, a thick sauce courtesy of a starch slurry, and that numbing-spicy sensation courtesy of a heavy dose of Sichuan pepper.
But the very first version of Mapo Tofu, Mapo Tofu as it was reportedly first whipped up by the Mapo herself? Well, apparently, there was... no starch, no chili bean paste, and the meat component? Pork slices. Further, squarely optional was the meat, the cooking oil, and even the Sichuan pepper powder.
To explain how we go there, in this video we'll take you back to Mapo Tofu as it was in the 1980s, then the 1950s, then the 1920s, and finally the reported 19th century version. And in the process, we'll also show you the first written recipe for Sichuan Mapo Tofu (published in 1958) - an absolute masterpiece of a Mapo that's since become my favorite recipe for Mapo Tofu.
Attached below is that 1958 recipe, plus our English translation (if I've done my math right, I think this may be the first time it's ever been translated into English? But maybe I just couldn't find it)
Comments
Just had it for dinner. Fucking incredible wasn’t wrong - JC that was good. Used osso bucco deboned because shin was impossible to find (it’s not so expensive in Australia for some reason). Thank you Chris & Steph!
Henry Holm
2025-01-13 11:00:45 +0000 UTCThank you for the older mapo recipe! Gluten free pixian doubanjiang is impossible to find, and I've missed mapo *so much* since getting diagnosed with celiac. We're gonna make it this week! 😋
uselessdevice
2025-01-08 03:04:26 +0000 UTCYep! Here ya go :) https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Ga411w7vN/ It's also up on YouTube as well, but nobody seems to have organized it into a playlist. They're all searchable though, here Sichuan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCTjdCZBq5M
Stephanie Li and Chris Thomas
2025-01-07 07:49:49 +0000 UTCis it possible to watch the 中国の食文化 series somewhere online?
Tacy Prins Woodlief
2025-01-07 07:24:04 +0000 UTCChefu wrote that in Chengdu it was post-49 that Pixian was added. It’s also *possible* that there was Pixian at Chen Mapo in the 80s, but the lack of it in the footage was definitely notable! By the 00s it was there for sure.
Stephanie Li and Chris Thomas
2025-01-07 04:49:41 +0000 UTCSo when the hell did it become a doubanjiang dish lol I feel like I've been living a lie
J Chow
2025-01-07 04:46:58 +0000 UTC
