The Insanely Delicious Chinese Dish that Rivals Chili

By Brian Lagerstrom · 30 min

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Slice the tofu into 6 planks, then cut into ¾–1 inch cubes. Leave the cubes undisturbed on the board so they do not break.
2. Bring 2–3 quarts of water to a boil in a wok or pot and salt it generously. Slide the tofu in gently with a bench scraper, simmer 2 minutes, then lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper-towel-lined plate.
3. Grate the ginger, press the garlic, slice the light green and white parts of the scallions and the chiles, and grind the Sichuan peppercorns in a mortar or crush them in a pan.
4. Heat a dry wok over high heat, add the oil and ground beef, and break up and brown for about 2 minutes.
5. Add the toban djan and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
6. Add the gochugaru and ground Sichuan peppercorns and stir-fry for 1 minute.
7. Add the scallions, chiles, garlic and ginger and stir-fry about 90 seconds until softened.
8. Deglaze with the Shaoxing wine, scraping up the browned bits, and reduce for about 30 seconds. Add the stock, soy sauce, salt, sugar, MSG (if using) and sesame oil, and bring to a boil.
9. Gently fold in the tofu and simmer for 2 minutes.
10. Stir the cornstarch and water into a slurry, add it to the wok and stir gently until the sauce thickens to a saucy consistency. Add more stock if too thick.
11. Serve over rice, garnished with the reserved scallion greens.

Summarized from Brian Lagerstrom's video. Watch it for the details.

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GarlicGingerScallionGround beefTofu