Chapter 57: Mapo Tofu dish:

"Hui Qing, do you know how to make mapo tofu?" Fang Feng asked. She was from Hunan which was also another state known for its spicy food. I shook my head honestly and replied "This is why I've you guys to taste test before I give it to Qi Yan,". They looked at me and chorused "You are taking us like white guinea pigs,". I laughed and nodded my head. As soon as we got all the ingredients together, I looked at the clock and noticed I had 30 mins before I had to go downstairs and collect the delivery. So we've to multitask. It was nearly 8 pm.

I read out the recipe and began to order everyone how to make the soup. The recipe said:

1) Add ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of ground white pepper with minced beef. Mix well and set aside.

I made Wei Wei to this step with measuring cups I've kept in this house. I often baked so there were enough ingredients for us to use.

2) Cut tofu into square cubes (around 2cms). Bring a large amount of water to a boil and then add a pinch of salt. Slide the tofu in and cook for 1 minute. Move out and drain.

I did this step myself so to make sure that the tofu would not be cut wrongly as it had to be precise.

3)Get a wok and heat up around 2 tablespoons of oil, fry the minced meat until crispy. Transfer out the beef and leave the oil in.

Cheng Li did this as Fang Feng was going nowhere near the oil. She's not a fan of hot oil.

4)Add another 1 tablespoon of vegetable cooking oil and fry doubanjiang for 1 minute over slow fire until the red turns red.

Cheng Li also did this step.

5)Add fermented black beans, garlic, scallion white, ginger, and fermented black beans to cook for 30 seconds until aroma. Optionally mix pepper flakes in. Pepper flakes should be added at the end because it contains little water and can be burnt easily.

6) Then pour in water or stock. Add light soy sauce, sugar, and half of the cooked beef (providing more flavour to the soup) after the broth boils and let it continue simmering for 2-3 minutes.

To help Cheng Li, Fang Feng did the other two steps.

7) Place the tofu in, and simmer for another 6-8 minutes. The longer time of simmering helps the tofu to absorb the flavours.

After I placed the tofu in there was nothing left for us to do, instead, Wei Wei helped me look at tiramisu recipes whilst Fang Feng and Cheng Li watch over the fire. Because I was doing the next step.

8) During simmering, mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2.5 tablespoons of water in a small bowl to make water starch. Stir the water starch and then pour half of the mixture into the simmering pot. Push and wait for around 30 seconds, then pour the other half. You can slightly taste the tofu and add a pinch of salt if not salty enough. Add cooked beef to create some crispy texture and then drizzle sesame oil. Mix well.

9)Transfer out when almost all the seasonings stick to tofu cubes. Sprinkle Szechuan peppercorn powder (to taste)and chopped garlic greens if using. The best way of serving mapo tofu is simply with steamed rice or noodles. The sauce is so good.

We were finally done after making this dish for more than 20 minutes. I set aside another portion for Qi Yan as Fang Feng tried it out. She picked up a piece of meat and placed it into her mouth. After she swallowed it she gave a thumbs-up and began to eat more. I too along with the others tried some. I split the map tofu into a microwavable thermal container and gave the remaining to my roommates. "Wei Wei don't eat too much your stomach can' stand it well," I advised as I began to find the ingredients for the tiramisu. I had ordered them not to help me make this dessert because I wanted to make it myself.