Spicy Tofu With Beef And Szechuan Peppercorns Food

MA-PO TOFU (SPICY BEAN CURD WITH BEEF)

Steps:

• In dry heavy skillet over moderate heat, toast peppercorns, stirring, until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl and let cool, then grind in spice grinder to fine powder. Set aside.
• In large pot over moderately high heat, bring 4 cups water to boil. Add tofu, remove from heat, and let steep, uncovered, 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer tofu to medium bowl and set aside.
• In small bowl, whisk together hot bean paste, black-bean paste, 2 tablespoons oyster sauce, and chili powder. Set aside.
• In small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 3 tablespoons water. Set aside.
• In wok or heavy large sauté pan over moderate heat, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add beef, ginger, garlic, and scallions and stir-fry until meat is browned, about 1 minute. Add rice wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of moisture evaporates, 1 to 2 minutes. Add hot bean paste mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is incorporated and oil in pan turns red, about 1 minute.
• Add tofu, leeks, stock, light and dark soy sauces, and remaining 2 tablespoons oyster sauce and bring to boil. Whisk cornstarch mixture to recombine, then add to pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until juices thicken slightly, about 1 minute.
• Transfer to serving dish. Sprinkle with Sichuan peppercorn powder and cilantro, if using. Serve immediately.

SPICY SZECHUAN BEEF

Steps:

• Add the steak and the marinade ingredients to a large ziplock bag. Toss to coat and let the beef marinate for 15 minutes or while you are getting the sauce ingredients together.
• Meanwhile in a small bowl combine the sauce ingredients, set aside.
• When you are ready to cook heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.Add in beef (discard marinade). Sear beef for 2-3 on both sides. Just until the beef is browned on the outside. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add in bell pepper, ginger, and garlic, and sauté for 3-4 minutes or until the pepper is tender.
• Add the beef back to the pan along with the sauce. Simmer for 1-2 minutes or until the sauce is thickened.
• Serve immediately with green onions and sesame seeds for garnish, if desired

MAPO TOFU RECIPE

Steps:

• Add a small pinch of salt and ground pepper. Mix well and set aside.
• Cut tofu into square cubes (around 2cms). Bring a large amount of water to a boil and then add a pinch of salt. Slide the tofu in and cook for 1 minute. Move out and drain. This helps to remove the raw soy flavor form tofu.
• Get a wok and heat up around 2 tablespoons of oil, fry the minced meat until crispy. Transfer out and leave the oil in.
• Add another 1 tablespoon of vegetable cooking oil and fry doubanjiang for 1 minute over slow fire until the red turns red (bring us a lovely red color dish) and add fermented black beans, garlic, scallion white and ginger, cook for 30 seconds until aroma. Optionally mix pepper flakes in. Pepper flakes should be added at the end because it contains little water and can be burnt easily.
• Pour in water or stock. Add light soy sauce, sugar and half of the cooked beef (providing more flavors to the soup) after the broth boils and let it continue simmering for 2-3 minutes. Place the tofu in, simmer for another 6-8 minutes. The longer time of simmering helps the tofu to absorb the flavors.
• During the process of simmering, mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2.5 tablespoons of water in a small bowl to make water starch. Stir the water starch and then pour half of the mixture to the simmering pot. Back push and wait for around 30 seconds and then pour the other half. You can slightly taste the tofu and add pinch of salt if not salty enough. Add cooked beef to creates some crispy texture and then drizzle sesame oil. Mix well.
• Transfer out when almost all the seasonings stick to tofu cubes. Sprinkle Szechuan peppercorn powder (to taste)and chopped garlic greens if using.
• Serve immediately with steamed rice.

SPICY AND TINGLY BEEF

Steps:

• Place the meat in a large pot and cover with cold water by about 2 inches; bring to a boil. Let boil for 3 minutes, then turn off the heat, drain the water and transfer the meat to a cutting board. When it's cool enough to handle, cut the meat into approximately 1-inch cubes.
• In the same pot, heat the vegetable oil over medium. Add the onion, scallions, ginger, garlic, star anise and dried red chiles, and sauté for about 30 seconds. Reduce heat slightly, and stir in Pixian sauce, letting it cook until the red oil rises. Add the beef, cooking wine, soy sauce and 2 cups water.
• Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high. Once the mixture is boiling, reduce heat to low so the liquid holds at a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for another 30 minutes, until meat is tender and the sauce is reduced. If the pan starts to dry out, exposing the meat, add a splash of water as needed.
• Once the meat is cooked, add the tomato, Sichuan peppercorn powder and chile powder, and stir to combine. Turn off the heat, and cover for about 5 minutes so the flavors can meld. Serve over warm rice or noodles, and finish with a drizzle of Sichuan chile crisp.

SZECHUAN TOFU AND VEGGIES

Steps:

• Heat oil in a skillet. Season oil generously with salt and pepper. With tofu, I generally use ½ teaspoon kosher salt per ½ pound of tofu. Swirl the seasoned oil around until spread out uniformly. Add tofu and sear on at least two sides, until crispy and golden. Be patient here. Set aside.
• To the same pan, add a little more oil if needed, onion, and mushrooms and sauté over medium-high heat - stirring constantly, until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining veggies, add the dried red chilies if you like -and lower heat to medium, and sauté, tossing & stirring for 3-5 minutes until just tender or al dente. Tender, but vibrant and still slightly crisp!
• Add the Szechuan Sauce, starting with ¼ cup and adding more to taste. If you are cooking more than one batch, you'll need to multiply the sauce accordingly. Cook the sauce 2 minutes, letting it thicken a bit. Toss in the crispy tofu ( or shrimp or chicken) right at the end, just to warm it up.
• Divide among bowls. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions. Add chili flakes for more heat.
• Serve this just as it is, or over rice, or noodles... and remember, do not eat the dried chilis!

HOT AND SPICY TOFU AND BEEF

Steps:

• Combine soy sauce, sherry, chilli sauce, sugar and oyster sauce; stir. Marinate tofu cubes in the sauce ingredients for 15mins or more.
• Sprinkle ground beef with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in wok, stir fry onions, garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add dried chilli and scallion bottoms, stir fry for 1 minute.
• Add seasoned ground beef and continue to stir fry until browned.
• Add tofu and sauce, combine well. Let simmer 1-2mins.
• Add chilli flakes, if you like it really spicy!
• Add cornstarch mixture, stir fry until sauce thicken.
• Garnish with chopped scallion greens, and serve with jasmine rice.

SPICY SICHUAN BEEF STIR-FRY

Steps:

• Toss the steak with 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon cornstarch in a large bowl. Combine the cucumber and celery in a separate bowl; set aside.
• Stir the black bean sauce with the remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon cornstarch, the cherry pepper brine and 1/4 cup water in a small bowl; set aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the cucumber-celery mixture and cook, undisturbed, 1 minute. Toss and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the same skillet. Add the steak in a single layer. Cook until browned on the bottom, about 1 minute. Toss and continue cooking, stirring, until just a few pink spots remain, 1 more minute. Add the garlic, ginger and peppercorns and cook, stirring, until the meat is cooked through, 1 to 2 more minutes. Add the black bean sauce mixture and cherry peppers and bring to a boil. Cook until glossy, about 1 minute. Toss in the cucumbers and celery.
• Serve the stir-fry over rice. Top with celery leaves.

SPICY TOFU WITH BEEF AND SZECHUAN PEPPERCORNS

Steps:

• Bring a kettle of water to a rolling boil. Meanwhile, cut tofu into 1/2-inch cubes, and put into a bowl. Remove kettle from heat; when boiling subsides, pour water over tofu to cover. Let stand for 15 minutes, then drain in a sieve or colander. Transfer tofu to a bowl; set near stove. Measure out 1 1/3 cups water from kettle for sauce, and set next to tofu.
• In a large wok or skillet, toast peppercorns over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until richly fragrant and slightly darkened (you may see a wisp of smoke). Let cool, then pound with a mortar and pestle or grind in a spice grinder. Set aside.
• Heat oil in wok or skillet over high heat. Add ground meat, stirring and mashing into small pieces, until crumbly and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add ginger, chile flakes, black beans, and chile bean sauce. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until beef is reddish brown and oil is slightly red. Add sugar and soy sauce, stir to combine, and add tofu. Gently stir or give wok a shake to combine without breaking up tofu too much.
• Pour in reserved water, and bring to a vigorous simmer. Cook until tofu absorbs flavors of sauce, about 3 minutes.
• Taste sauce, and add a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar, if needed. Add green onions; stir to combine. Stir in cornstarch, then add enough to mixture to thicken sauce. (Traditionally, the sauce should be more soupy than gravy-like.) Sprinkle in the ground peppercorns, give mixture one last stir, and transfer to a serving bowl. Serve immediately with rice.

SZECHUAN SAUCE

Steps:

• Toast szechuan peppercorns in a hot dry skillet over medium heat, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Crush.
• Place all ingredients in a medium bowl or small jar and whisk until well combined.
• If using as a stir-fry sauce, and you would like to thicken it, whisk in 2 teaspoons cornstarch.
• If using as a marinade, forgo the cornstarch and make sure to season what you are marinating ( chicken, tofu, beef) with salt. The marinade alone will probably not be salty enough.
• If making a stir-fry, try adding a few dry Chinese or Arbol chilies (5-10) to the stir-fry, right before adding the Szechuan Sauce. Do not eat the chilis. ????

SPICY SZECHUAN BEEF RECIPE

Steps:

• Freeze the steak in the freezer overnight to make for easier slicing.
• Take the steak out of the freezer 1 hour before you plan to cook it, and slice it into thin strips.
• Place the steak strips into a large bowl along with the cornstarch, soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of mirin, 1 tablespoon of chili oil, brown sugar, and salt. Mix well and let the steak marinate for 15 minutes.
• Slice the red pepper and carrots into thin matchsticks.
• In a large pan, add 1 tablespoon chili oil and turn the heat to medium-high.
• Cook the sliced red pepper and carrots for 3 to 4 minutes, then set aside.
• Cook the marinated steak in 1 tablespoon of chili oil (in batches, if need be) for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Turn down the heat to medium-low and add the cooked vegetables, mix these together with all of the cooked steak strips.
• Add the beef broth, 1 teaspoon mirin, the crushed red pepper, and the Szechuan peppercorns to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes until slightly thickened.
• Serve the Szechuan beef over rice. If desired, garnish with spring onions and sesame seeds.

SPICY SICHUAN TOFU (MAPO DOUFU)

Steps:

• Grind peppercorns in grinder and set aside.
• Cut tofu into 3/4-inch cubes and pat dry.
• Heat wok over high heat until it begins to smoke, then pour oil down side and swirl to coat bottom and side. Stir-fry pork until no longer pink. Add bean sauce, black beans, and chile powder and stir-fry 1 minute. Stir in stock, soy sauce, sugar, tofu, and a pinch of salt. Simmer, gently stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, stir together cornstarch and water until smooth.
• Stir cornstarch mixture into stir-fry and simmer, gently stirring occasionally, 1 minute. Stir in scallions and simmer 1 minute. Serve sprinkled with Sichuan pepper.
• **Serve with:**perfect steamed rice