20 February 2010

Ma Po Tofu, Round Two!

A recent trip to Chinatown unearthed a new Ma Po Tofu mix: Baiweizhai Brand. It had nice, old-fashionedy-looking packaging and charmingly unhelpful instructions like: "And with this product how much used according to the amount of bean curd to make it appetizing and add appetizing soup in it". I thought I'd give it a try.

Now, Ma Po Tofu is supposed to be spicy — really spicy even. But this was one-more-chili-and-I'll-see-God spicy. Not good. I had to add sugar and chicken stock to try to calm it down a little. Also, there was an inappropriate amount of Sichuan peppercorns; i.e., there were none. This is also not good since it is the key ingredient in this recipe.

The hunt for the perfect Ma Po Tofu mix continues!