This vegan mapo is packed with fiery flavor! Made with smoky shiiitake mushrooms and silken tofu in spicy sauce, it tastes like it came from your favorite Chinese restaurant, but is actually really easy to make at home.
- ¼ cup chilled water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 4 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
- 8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke, optional
- 5 dried chili peppers, roughly chopped (Note 1), plus more to taste, up to 10 peppers
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns, ground using a mortar and pestle or pepper grinder
- ½ cup vegetable broth, or water
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon doubanjiang (Chinese spicy broad bean paste), plus up to 1 additional tablespoon if desired
- 2 (12.3 ounce/349 gram) packages firm or extra firm silken tofu, diced (about ½ inch)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 scallions, chopped
- Cooked rice, for serving
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Stir the cold water and cornstarch together in a small bowl or cup. Set the mixture aside.
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Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large wok over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and liquid smoke, if using. Cook the mushrooms for about 4 minutes, stirring them occasionally, until they become tender and shrink slightly.
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Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the wok. Add the chili peppers. Stir-fry the peppers with the mushrooms for about 1 minute, just until they begin to darken in color.
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Push the mushrooms and chili peppers to the side, then add the garlic and ginger to the wok, in the space you just cleared. Sauté the garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly to avoid burning.
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Stir the garlic and ginger in with the mushrooms and chilis, then push everything to the sides of the wok again. Add the Szechuan peppercorns to the newly cleared space. Toast the peppercorns for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.
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Carefully add the broth or water, soy sauce, and doubanjiang to the wok. Make sure to pour the broth or water and soy sauce slowly over the mushroom mixture, as the liquid will sputter if it hits the hot cooking surface. Stir everything together and allow the mixture to simmer for about a minute.
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Stir in the cornstarch and cold water mixture. Bring the liquid back to a simmer. Within a few seconds you should see the liquid start to thicken slightly.
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Carefully stir in the tofu, being very gentle to avoid breaking the tofu cubes. Allow the mixture to simmer for about a minute, then remove the wok from heat.
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Gently stir in the sesame oil.
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Taste-test the tofu and add more soy sauce if desired. Sprinkle with scallions and serve over rice.
- You can reduce the heat level of this dish slightly by removing the seeds from the peppers. When chopping them, simply shake the seeds out after making the first cut. The dish will still be quite hot.
- Nutrition information does not include rice.