Recipe: Perfect Mabo Dofu

Mabo Dofu.

You can have Mabo Dofu using 18 ingredients and 4 steps. Here is how you cook it.

Ingredients of Mabo Dofu

1. You need of Flour-Water Slurry.
2. You need 1/4 c of flour.
3. It's 1/3 of to 1/2 c of water.
4. Prepare of Seasoning.
5. It's to taste of (sea) salt.
6. It's 1 tsp of garlic powder.
7. Prepare 1/4 c of dashi (dried Japanese fish stock) or 1-2 tbsp of miso or 1-2 chicken bouillion [this is really to taste, since it's used to add the most savory flavour].
8. You need 1 pinch of turmeric powder (for color) OPTIONAL.
9. It's 1 pinch of paprika (for color) OPTIONAL.
10. It's 2 tbsp of ground chili or 1 tbsp of fresh spicy pepper (I use habanero) OPTIONAL.
11. Prepare 2 tbsp of soy sauce.
12. It's 1 tbsp of sesame oil.
13. You need of Filling.
14. You need 4 of baby bok choy, sliced or diced.
15. You need 1 1/2 stalks of celery, sliced or diced.
16. It's 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced.
17. You need 1 1/2 box of soft tofu, cut into small cubes.
18. It's 1/2 lb of ground beef or other (about beef/pork/turkey: be sure to "cut" into small pieces when cooking so you don't end up with meat clumped together).

Mabo Dofu instructions

1. In a small bowl mix the water and flour, gradually adding the flour. Be sure that it's not too thin or too thick. Set aside mixture for later. Note: It should feel like you've added a bit of water to some honey, still somewhat thick but moves a lot smoother..
2. In a pan, add some oil and saute the meat until brown. Season lightly with salt. Add the veggies and cook till soft, then add the tofu last. Note: Garlic and spicy pepper should be cooked last among the vegetables to avoid burning..
3. Add your seasonings, then the flour-water slurry and mix thoroughly immediately. If it seems like it's too thick, add some water to thin it out. When everything has thickened up nicely and sticks together more or less, it's done! Serve over rice..
4. THIS IS NOT A STEP; if you feel that the ingredient list is way too long then just go with a basic mabo dofu recipe using just the ground meat, your choice of veggies and the dashi, soy sauce, sesame oil and salt. That's really all you need, everything else is just my preference, such as the habanero..