China

Posted by worldcookproject on
Next up is China! Chinese food is so diverse and has so much different dishes and types that it was very hard to pick one dish. I could write and entire blog just about Chinese dishes as they are so many of them. It is an extremely diverse cuisine that varies a lot between regions.
Here are a few facts about China:
  • Capital: Beijing
  • Population: about 1.4 billion
  • Area: 9 596 961 km²
  • Currency: Renminbi

For my Chinese recipe I made mapo tofu. mapo tofu is tofu and pork cooked in a fermented been and chili paste broth with garlic, ginger and Szechuan pepper. It is spicy and delicious!

Mapo tofu

Ingredients:

  • 400 ml chicken broth
  • 1 pound silken tofu
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 inch ginger
  • 1/2 pound ground pork
  • 4 scallions
  • 1 teaspoon chili flakes
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons doubanjiang also known as broad bean paste
  • 1 tablespoon dou-chi (fermented black beans)
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1/2 tablespoon Szechuan pepper
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

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Directions:

Start by measuring all the ingredients. Slice the scallions separating the white parts and the green parts. Mince the garlic and the ginger. Roughly chop the fermented black beans. Cut the tofu in 1 inch cubes. Ground the Szechuan pepper.

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Now that everything is ready, Boil water in a large pot and add some salt to it. Put the tofu in the boiling water and cook it for 1 minute. Strain and set aside.

Mix the sesame oil and a pinch of salt to the pork. In a wok, heat some cooking oil on high heat and fry the pork until crispy. Remove the pork from the wok leaving the oil. Set the pork aside.

In the oil left in the wok, on low heat, cook the doubanjiang for 1 minute. Add the garlic, ginger, white part of scallions and fermented black beans and cook for another minute.

Add pepper flakes and chicken broth and bring to a boil on high heat and reduce heat to a simmer. Add the tofu, soy sauce and pork and cook for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes, add most the green part of the scallions (just keep a few for decorating at the end).

Mix the cornstarch to 2 tablespoons of cold water. Add half the cornstarch mixture to the wok on high heat and let cook for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds add the other half and let cook for another 30 seconds. Sprinkle with Szechuan pepper. Taste to adjust salt. If the dish is too spicy you can add a little bit of sugar to reduce the spice level.

Serve with steamed rice and sprinkle the rest of the scallion greens.

慢慢吃!

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