Should I use garlic sprouts or chopped green onions in Mapo Tofu? What can I use instead of chopped green onions in Mapo Tofu?

We all know that Mapo Tofu is a common home-cooked dish. It tastes spicy and numbing, and is very good to eat. It has a great taste and is very popular among people. Many people make their own Mapo Tofu. When making Mapo Tofu, chopped green onions are usually added. So what can be used instead of chopped green onions? Let's take a closer look!

What can I use instead of chopped green onion when making Mapo Tofu?

When making Mapo Tofu and there is no chopped green onion, you can use chopped green garlic sprouts, or use coriander leaves to add color.

If you want to use it as a garnish at the end and don’t have chopped green onions, you can use green garlic sprouts or coriander leaves; if you want to stir-fry it with ginger and garlic to bring out the aroma, I often use garlic sprouts instead.

Mapo tofu is one of the representative traditional dishes of Sichuan. Its main ingredients are tofu, minced beef (pork can also be used instead), etc. The cooking method seems simple, but it is not easy to make a bowl of qualified mapo tofu with the characteristics of "numbing, spicy, hot, fragrant, crispy, tender, fresh and lively".

What kind of tofu is good for making Mapo Tofu?

The taste of Mapo tofu should highlight its tenderness, so gypsum tofu is chosen as the main ingredient (curd tofu is also very tender).

Choose beef leg meat to make crispy Shao, in order to highlight the "crisp" taste. "Fragrant" here refers to the complex aroma of Sichuan cuisine's soul of bean paste, minced ginger and garlic, and fermented black beans. "Spicy" of course refers to the aroma of chili powder (which will be introduced later in the recipe). "Numbness" refers to the pepper powder sprinkled on the dish, and "hotness" refers to the Sichuan cuisine's unique method of thickening the dish when cooking tofu. "Freshness" refers to the special method of stimulating the freshness of tofu without losing its original flavor. Numbness, spiciness, hotness, freshness, tenderness, crispness, and fragrance are the essence of Mapo Tofu, and are also the benchmark for measuring the chef's skills.

How to make Mapo Tofu

Prepare the ingredients:

1 piece of tofu, 1 piece of lean meat, a few cloves of garlic, a few onions, appropriate amount of bean paste, a little pepper powder, a little soy sauce, appropriate amount of water starch, a little salt, a little MSG, and appropriate amount of cooking oil.

Cooking method:

1. Peel and mince garlic. Wash and chop green onions.

2. Cut the tofu into small cubes, put it in boiling water, cook for 1 minute, and then remove it.

3. Wash the lean meat and chop it into minced meat. Add a little soy sauce and then a little starch.

4. Add appropriate amount of cooking oil into the pot, heat it up, add the minced meat into the pot and stir-fry until it changes color.

5. Then add the bean paste into the pan and fry until it turns red, then add the minced garlic into the pan and fry until fragrant.

6. Add an appropriate amount of boiling water, put in the tofu cubes, bring to a boil, use medium-low heat, add a little soy sauce,

7. Then add starch to thicken the sauce, add a little pepper powder and stir-fry evenly.

8. Add appropriate amount of chopped green onion, a little salt and a little MSG and stir well.

Mapo tofu is delicious. It is a little spicy and a little bit numbing. It tastes tender and smooth. It is not only good with rice, but also with wine. If you want it spicy, add some chili peppers. If you want it numbing, add some green peppercorns. If you want it hot, add starch to thicken the sauce.