Silken tofu in a glowing, numbing-hot chili bean sauce — Chengdu’s most famous export.

Where does Mapo Tofu come from?

Mapo Tofu is a Sichuan dish from Sichuan, China.

Can Mapo Tofu be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Mapo Tofu recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Mapo Tofu take to make?

About 30 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 3.

Recipe

Name: Mapo Tofu
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: Sichuan
Ingredients: 1 lb soft or silken tofu, large cubes; 6 oz ground pork; 2 tbsp doubanjiang (chili bean paste); 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, toasted and ground; 3 cloves + 1 tbsp garlic and ginger, minced; 3 scallions, sliced; 1 cup stock or water; 1 tbsp cornstarch; 2 tbsp water slurry; 3 tbsp neutral oil; 3 cups steamed rice, to serve

Asia → 🇨🇳 China → Sichuan

Mapo Tofu

Sichuan · easy · serves 3

prep 15 min · cook 15 min

~1126 cal · 42g protein · 168g carbs · 31g fat (estimated, per serving)

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Bubbling red mapo tofu scattered with scallions and peppercorn

🇨🇳 Sichuan

Named for the pockmarked grandmother (má pó) who ran a Chengdu restaurant in the 1860s, mapo tofu is the flagship of Sichuan’s má-là style: the tingling numbness of Sichuan peppercorn riding the heat of fermented chili bean paste.

Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 3 —

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1 lb soft or silken tofu, large cubes

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6 oz ground pork

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2 tbsp doubanjiang (chili bean paste)

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1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, toasted and ground

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3 cloves + 1 tbsp garlic and ginger, minced

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3 scallions, sliced

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1 cup stock or water

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1 tbsp cornstarch

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2 tbsp water slurry

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3 tbsp neutral oil

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3 cups steamed rice, to serve

Instructions

Slide the tofu cubes into simmering salted water for 2 minutes to firm them; drain gently.

Fry the pork (or shiitake) in oil until crisp at the edges. Add doubanjiang and fry until the oil runs red.

Add garlic, ginger, and half the scallions; cook 30 seconds. Pour in the stock.

Slip in the tofu and simmer 3–4 minutes, nudging — never stirring hard — so the cubes stay whole.

Thicken with the slurry, slide onto a plate, and finish with ground Sichuan peppercorn and the rest of the scallions. Serve over rice.

Chengdu, Sichuan classic.

Ratings & reviews

No reviews yet — be the first to cook it.

🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

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Sichuan. The province of má-là — numbing pepper and glowing chili oil.

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China. Eight great culinary traditions inside one border.

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Asia. From street-cart woks to slow monastery kitchens.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

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Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →