Comments on: Vegetarian Mapo Tofu

By: Elaine

Elaine — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 00:07:03 +0000

In reply to Dave. Hi Dave, Yes, scallion white should be added in step 3.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 02:32:26 +0000

Ingredients list calls for shallot white, but it’s not mentioned in the procedure? Instead step 3 calls for scallion white. I’m happy either way.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 00:28:59 +0000

In reply to Andrew. If you want a more thick base, you can reduce the water amount for sure. Andrew.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 09 Jan 2022 19:37:59 +0000

Thanks for the recipe! I am curious about the water amount. I added 2 cups of water and the recommended amount of corn starch but I ended up with a very water soup with little flavour. I’m wondering if I made a mistake somehow, or if the water is supposed to boil away. I almost feel like the water should be like 1/2 a cup instead of 2 cups to get the consistency I’m used to for mapo tofu

By: Elaine

Elaine — Sat, 26 Dec 2020 11:59:13 +0000

In reply to Ryan. Ryan The black beans should be chopped and then add to the soup base. If you don't love the flavor of fermented black beans, you can also skip it.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 06:06:44 +0000

Hi,
I’ve made Mapo Tofu before, but didn’t use fermented black beans. In the past I’ve made black bean sauce by purchasing dried fermented black beans and then prepping them by rinsing off excess salt, then cooking/rehydrating them with water and storing them in oil. I then used a small amount of the rehydrated black bean to make the black bean sauce. Is this what you’re doing with the black beans (or using already prepped black beans in a jar), or are you just chopping up the fermented black beans in their dried state and adding them to the dish?
Thanks you

By: Elaine

Elaine — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 01:15:41 +0000

In reply to James Richman. That's a good question really James. Salt is used as a marinated ingredients for the meat to enhance the aroma and flavor. However it is not necessary in this version. Doubanjiang can create enough salty flavor for the stock.

By: James Richman

James Richman — Sat, 28 Nov 2020 20:42:26 +0000

A question, please – why is there twice as much sodium in the vegetarian version? The ingredients are mostly the same, including especially the ones with lots of sodium (black beans, doubanjiang). The meat version even has 1/4 tsp salt which is not found in the vegetarian version. If there were salt in the stock, that would once again disfavor the meat version, relatively speaking.

Which number is correct?

Love your site and recipes!

Thank you

By: Elaine

Elaine — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 00:21:51 +0000

In reply to Aly. Aly, The black seeds don't have any taste but it spoil the texture. So discard the seeds and use the red skin only!!