Chicken Mapo Tofu Recipe

Mapo tofu (or ma po tofu) is a very traditional and popular Chinese dish that’s loved all over Japan. It’s comforting, texturally beautiful and incredibly tasty. There are several ways to make mapo tofu; spicy, mild, oily, lean, chunky, silky. I have tried many many mapo tofu recipe and love experimenting with different flavor combinations in my own kitchen. For this mapo tofu recipe I am using ground chicken instead of ground pork and making silken tofu the star of the dish. I wanted to create a healthier mapo tofu recipe while still retaining as much of the original flavors since I adore this dish. The result is a mapo tofu recipe that’s milder (since chicken is more delicate in flavor) yet savory and very high in umami. This is a mapo tofu recipe to contemplate on those days when you want to eat light but still crave oily Chinese takeout!

 When tofu is prepared the right way, it’s incredibly delicious! With healthy benefits such as lowering bad cholesterol and certain cancers, as well as alleviating menopause symptoms, it’s worth a second try in the kitchen.

Mapo Tofu Recipe

Print Recipe

This is an easy and healthy mapo tofu recipe made with ground chicken and silken tofu. Only 25 minutes to make from start to finish.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 2
• Category: Main
• Cuisine: Chinese, Tofu, Poultry

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 pound ground chicken
• 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 thumb size ginger (peeled and finely chopped)
• 1 jalapeno (finely chopped)
• 1 pound silken tofu (drained)
• 1 tablespoon sake
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 8 tablespoons chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon tobanjan (Korean chili paste)
• 1/4 cup water
• 8 stalks scallions (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 tablespoon potato starch (mixed with 1 tablespoon water)
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large pan over high heat add 2 tbsp oil, garlic, ginger and jalapeno, and cook for a minute, until garlic is fragrant. Add ground chicken and cook for a couple of minutes, until chicken has cooked through. Add tofu and incorporate it by gently breaking it up. Add sake, soy sauce, light soy sauce, chicken broth and tobanjan, and cook for 2 minutes. Add scallions, mix well and add the water. Add the potato starch mix (this is what makes the texture glutinous), stir well and finish up by adding sesame oil and seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with Japanese rice.

Nutrition

• Calories: 448
• Saturated Fat: 4

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