Recipe: Ma Po tofu with button mushrooms
A classic dish from China’s Sichuan province

This dish is a classic from China’s Sichuan province, says Bonnie Chung. While its peppery heat hits you right between the eyes, it is actually a delicate recipe that celebrates tofu’s panna cotta-like texture. Serve with fluffy steamed rice.
Serves 4
Ingredients
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 spring onions, green parts only, finely chopped
- 4 tbsp Sichuan chilli bean paste
- 2 tbsp finely chopped or grated garlic
- 2 tbsp peeled and finely chopped or grated fresh ginger
- ½ tsp freshly ground white pepper
- 100ml water
- 600g firm or soft tofu, drained for 20 minutes and cut into 2.5cm cubes
- 10 small button mushrooms, kept whole
- 2 tsp potato flour or corn flour
- to serve (optional): coriander
- 2 pinches of crushed Sichuan peppercorns
- steamed rice and greens
Method
- Heat the oil in a frying pan, then throw in the spring onions, chilli bean paste and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse. Stir in the ginger, white pepper and water.
- Place the tofu carefully into the pan and stir the sauce around it, reduce the heat and add the mushrooms.
- In a small bowl, mix the potato flour with 1 tbsp of water until smooth, then pour this mixture into the pan while stirring gently, to thicken the sauce around the tofu and mushrooms.
- Serve immediately scattered with coriander and Sichuan pepper, if you like, with steamed rice and greens.
Taken from Tofu Tasty by Bonnie Chung, published by Pavilion Books at £14.99. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £13.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Week Unwrapped: Can bullfighting win over young Spaniards
Podcast Plus, is online fandom inherently unhealthy? And is Putin’s economy running out of gas?
-
Heirs and Graces: an ‘enthralling’ deep dive into the decline of nobility
The Week Recommends Eleanor Doughty explores the ‘bizarre fascination’ with the British aristocracy
-
The week’s best photos
In Pictures A monstrous pumpkin, a sumo showdown, and more
-
Heirs and Graces: an ‘enthralling’ deep dive into the decline of nobility
The Week Recommends Eleanor Doughty explores the ‘bizarre fascination’ with the British aristocracy
-
6 sporty homes with tennis courts
Feature Featuring a clay tennis court in New York and a viewing deck in California
-
Critics’ choice: Seafood in the spotlight
Feature An experimental chef, a newspaper-worthy newcomer, and a dining titan’s fresh spin-off
-
Taylor Swift’s Showgirl: Much glitter, little gold
Feature Swift’s new album has broken records, but critics say she may have gotten herself creatively stuck
-
Theater review: Masquerade
218 W. 57th St., New York City 218 W. 57th St., New York City
-
Film reviews: Roofman and Kiss of the Spider Woman
Feature An escaped felon’s heart threatens to give him away and a prisoner escapes into daydreams of J.Lo.
-
Cyrano de Bergerac: a ‘huge-hearted’ production
The Week Recommends This ‘playful’ and ‘poignant’ rendition brings new life to the ‘gilet-sporting, verse-spouting’ titular soldier
-
I Swear: a ‘warm-hearted’ comedy-drama
The Week Recommends While ‘inescapably hilarious’, the drama also lifts the lid on John Davidson’s experiences with Tourette syndrome