Recipe: mabodofu don (spicy tofu and pork over rice) by Sylvan Mishima Brackett
Use the best ground pork you can find and silken tofu for this warming dish

Mabodofu is the Japanese version of the Chinese dish mapo tofu, said Sylvan Mishima Brackett. It gets its distinctive flavour from tobanjan, a Japanese-made Sichuan-style paste of fermented broad beans and chilli peppers, which is available in most Japanese grocery shops. And you should choose the best ground pork you can find. Although you can make mabodofu with medium or firm tofu, I prefer the lush texture of the silken variety. Like a curry, it is incomplete without rice.
Ingredients: makes 6-8 servings
- 2 packs silken tofu
- 2 tbsp vegetable or other neutral oil
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 3 tbsp minced ginger
- 3 tbsp minced garlic
- 1-3 Thai bird’s eye chillies, stemmed, seeded and sliced
- 450g ground pork
- ½ medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 8 tbsp red miso
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp tobanjan (or, if you can’t find it, Chinese chilli bean sauce)
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 590ml chicken stock
- 2 tbsp potato starch
For serving
- hot rice
- ground sansho pepper
- sliced spring onions
Method
- Cut the tofu into 2.5cm cubes and gently place them in a bowl; add some hot tap water to cover.
- Heat the vegetable and sesame oils in a wok, 12-inch/30cm cast-iron pan or casserole dish over high heat until the oil starts to shimmer. Add the ginger, garlic, and chillies and sauté for a few seconds until fragrant.
- Add the pork, break it up with a wooden spoon, and continue to cook over a high heat until the meat has begun to brown. Decrease the heat to medium and add the onion. Cook until the onion becomes soft and translucent, about 7 minutes.
- Add the miso, sugar, tobanjan, pepper and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until the pork is tender. Gently add the cut tofu to the meat sauce and return to a simmer.
- In a small bowl, mix the potato starch with ¼ cup/60ml cold water, and gently stir it into the mabodofu. Cook for another minute or so, until the sauce has thickened.
- To serve, spoon a portion of hot rice into a large serving bowl and then gently add the mabodofu. Top the dish with a pinch of ground sansho pepper and a mound of thinly sliced spring onions.
Recipe from "Rintaro: Japanese Food from an Izakaya in California" by Sylvan Mishima Brackett, published by Hardie Grant at £30. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £23.99 (incl. p&p), call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.
Subscribe to 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.
Sign up for The Week's Food & Drink newsletter for recipes, reviews and recommendations.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
How will Trump's megabill affect you?
Today's Big Question Republicans have passed the 'big, beautiful bill' through Congress
-
Scientists are the latest 'refugees'
In the spotlight Brain drain to brain gain
-
5 dreamy books to dive into this July
The Week Recommends A 'politically charged' collection of essays, historical fiction goes sci-fi and more
-
6 sleek homes for modernists
Feature Featuring a concrete-and-steel home in South Carolina and a renovated 19th-century former carriage house in Pennsylvania
-
The Genius Myth: a 'fresh and unpretentious' book from Helen Lewis
The Week Recommends This 'angry, witty book' by Helen Lewis is a valuable critique of the 'flattering fiction' of genius
-
From Hilde, With Love – the 'moving' story of an accidental revolutionary
The Week Recommends Liv Lisa Fries gives a 'compelling' performance as the soft-spoken heroine.
-
Exploring Georgia's southern highlands
The Week Recommends Visit Javakheti, Georgia's 'lake district', and meet the last-remaining 'spirit wrestlers' in the region
-
Music reviews: Bruce Springsteen and Benson Boone
Feature "Tracks II: The Lost Albums" and "American Heart"
-
Thomas Mallon's 6 favorite books from the 80's and early 90's
Feature The author recommends works by James Merrill, Calvin Trillin, and more
-
The tourist flood in the Mediterranean: can it be stemmed?
Talking Point Finger-pointing at Airbnb or hotel owners obscures the root cause of overtourism in holiday hotspots: unmanageable demand
-
Thai fish pie with crispy turmeric potatoes recipe
The Week Recommends Tasty twist on the Lancashire hot pot is given a golden glow