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Mapo Tofu

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30 min

Main
Get ready to savour the bold and spicy flavours of Sichuan cuisine with this mapo tofu recipe. This iconic dish features tofu in a fiery sauce, enriched with the deep flavours of fermented chili paste. It delivers an intense spiciness, featuring both traditional heat and the unique numbing sensation, known as "málà," from Szechuan peppercorns.

Servings

Total

30 min

Prep

14 min

Cook

16 min

Contains

Soy symbol

soy

Sesame symbol

sesame

Gluten symbol

gluten

Free from

Peanut symbol

peanut

Treenut symbol

tree nut

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Martina - Oct. 11, 2026, 12:43 p.m.

This is so deliiiiiiicious! I have discovered this dish watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown" and since he wasn't exactly a tofu lover but spoke so highly of it, I was very interested in trying it. Now I can finally say he was right to love the dish. And I'm surprised by how easy it is to make too. Definitely in my "Favourite PUL recipes" list 😉

PUL small logo PUL Team - Oct. 11, 2026, 5:50 p.m.

Ahhh we love this, Martina!! 🥹❣️ How fun that you discovered this dish and now it’s made its way onto your list of favourite PUL recipes! Thanks so much for giving it a try and sharing this with us 🫶

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Evi - Sept. 17, 2026, 9:52 a.m.

Great recipe, this was really good and tasted even better on next days. Loved the rich flavour! Next time, I will use a bit less ginger as it was a bit too much for me. I also wonder if this worked with dehydrated soy mince as I’m trying to stay away from processed food.

PUL small logo PUL Team - Sept. 17, 2026, 5:03 p.m.

So happy you enjoyed it, Evi! 🙌 And oooh you could use dehydrated soy mince instead of the vegan ground mince if you’d like. Just rehydrate it according to the package instructions first, then drain off any excess liquid before adding it to the recipe. And of course adjust the recipe to taste as needed. Happy cooking! 🫶

Evi - Oct. 11, 2026, 4:37 p.m.

Thank you for the tips, I tried with soy mince and it turned out even better for me. I added some miso paste and garlic chilli oil and used soft (not silken) tofu.Thanks so much again, I’m obsessed 🤩 🌶️

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MK - Sept. 15, 2026, 12:46 a.m.

I really enjoyed this recipe. It was absolutely delicious! I did cook it longer covered with a lid to ensure the tofu was infused with flavor. The tofu was “melt in your mouth” soft. This will be a recipe on repeat. I will just use a little less spice next time. I guess that’s why those cucumbers were a part of the recipe. 😉

PUL small logo PUL Team - Sept. 15, 2026, 5:56 a.m.

Aww we’re so happy you loved it, MK, thanks for taking the time to share the review ☺️💛

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Serena Di+Sabatino - Sept. 13, 2026, 10:49 p.m.

Hi! Mapo tofu usually is made with silken tofu but here it’s with firm tofu. Is there a particular reason? Can I use silken tofu instead?

PUL small logo PUL team - Sept. 13, 2026, 10:57 p.m.

Hi Serena! Thanks so much for flagging this 😊 You're right! Traditionally, mapo tofu is made with a softer tofu. Here in the Netherlands, we mostly find either silken tofu or firm tofu in our supermarkets. We did try it with silken tofu, but it broke apart quite a bit (maybe just the brand we used, or maybe we stirred too much), so we went with firm tofu in the recipe. That said, if you can find soft tofu, we’d actually recommend that! I know it can be easier to find in North America especially. Silken tofu works too though, especially if you handle it more gently than we did :P. We’ll update the recipe wording to make this clearer. Thanks again for catching it! 💛

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Jules - Sept. 2, 2026, 5:56 p.m.

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