Ma Po Tofu is a well known strongly flavored, spicy tofu dish from the province of Sichuan (Szechuan), China. Literal translation means “pocked marked face old lady’s tofu”. “Ma” means pocked marked face, “po” means old lady.
Legend has it that this pocked marked face old lady owned a restaurant on the outskirt of Chendu (the capital of Sichuan) where traders pass. She served this dish that became very popular with the travelers.
Ma also means numb so this dish is also called numbing tofu because of the numbing effect too much chili can cause.
The main ingredients for this dish is tofu with a bit of ground pork (traditional) or ground meat of your choice for flavoring. There are many versions of Ma Po Tofu. Below is my version. Adjust the amount of spice to your liking.
Ma Po Tofu
From “My Students’ Favorite Chinese Recipes updated edition” by Norma Chang
Ingredients
¼ pound ground pork or ground meat of choice
2 teaspoons regular or gluten free soy sauce
1 tablespoon ginger wine
½ teaspoon sugar
Combine all the above well. Can be done the day before and kept refrigerated.
½ – 2 teaspoons Asian chili sauce or to taste
1 – 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound firm or extra firm tofu, cut into about ½-inch cubes (see NOTE 1)
1 tablespoons bean sauce or aka (red) miso (see NOTE 2)
2 scallions, mince white part, thinly slice green part for garnish
½ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
¼ cup chicken broth or as needed
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
2 teaspoons cornstarch combined with 1 tablespoon water. Stir well before adding to wok.
Preparations
1. Add oil to preheated wok or frying pan. Add chili sauce and garlic. Stir fry over high heat for 10 seconds. Add pork, stir-fry until color changes.
2. Stir in tofu, bean sauce, white part of scallions, salt and broth. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 2 minutes or until tofu is heated through and pork is cooked.
3. Thicken with cornstarch mixture. Stir in sesame oil. Remove to serving platter and garnish with green part of scallion. Serve hot over cooked rice.
NOTE 1: I personally prefer firm tofu for this dish. However if you are cutting the tofu into larger cubes you may want to use extra firm tofu.
NOTE 2: Bean sauce is made from soy beans. I prefer red miso as a substitute as its flavor is similar to bean sauce.
You may also like the following tofu dishes:
Click here for Corn & Tofu Chowder
Click here for Frozen Tofu Fried Rice
Click here for Hoisin Tofu with Nuts & 3 Peppers
Click here for Marinated Tofu, Asparagus & Portabella Mushrooms Stir-fry
Copyright © by Norma Chang
Robin, The Gardener of Eden, is the host for Thursdays Kitchen Cupboard. Head on over to Thursday’s Kitchen Cupboard to see what others are cooking.
Garden to Wok 
It sounds delicious. I wish my husband would eat tofu. I love tofu, but he doesn’t. He doesn’t like it.
Hello Daphne,
Try the hoisin tofu with nuts and 3 peppers or the frozen tofu fried rice. With the latter he will not know he is eating tofu unless you tell.
Hi, Norma-
I found this recipe in your book several years ago, and prepare often. It is fantastic!!!
Hello Jack,
Thanks, so good to hear from you. Glad you enjoy the Ma Po Tofu.
What a great post! Not only did I learn a great dish, Norma, but you taught me a little of the mythology behind the name. I find this kind of stuff interesting and like to pass it along when I serve the dish to friends. Thanks for sharing!
Hello John,
Thanks and you are so welcome. Appears we have the same inquiring mind.
Not being a fan of hot spicy food, I think I would opt for the hoisin tofu instead. I’m glad the you show people different ways to serve tofu. It’s a great food. And thanks for the reminder that I missed Kitchen Cupboard Thursday. I forgot to post.
Hello Lou,
You can make this dish without the spice.
I have been on a tofu kick lately. This dish looks very tasty!
Hello Yummychunklet,
Me too, that’s why I posted all those tofu recipes.
Norma, your tofu recipes are wonderful! I never liked tofu until I made some using your recipes and some really good tofu!
Hello Robin,
Am glad I got you to like tofu, which is your favorite recipe? How about “The Italian”?
I just love all these recipes with tofu and I’m collecting them. I need to get on the ball and try some of these!
Hello B and B,
Let me know which is your favorite and which you did not like.
I’ve always run away from tofu, but this dish actually looks interesting. Thanks for sharing this Ms. Norma 🙂
Hello Kay,
Give some of the other tofu recipes a try like the Hoisin Tofu and the Frozen Tofu Fried Rice.
I wonder if that old lady had any idea that she was starting a recipe that would last generations? Very interesting! My daughter LOVES tofu and I enjoy it when it’s prepared well – which I’m slowly figuring out how to do. This looks like it would be a very manageable dish for me and full of flavor!
Hello Kristy,
I had wondered that myself too. My other tofu dishes are also very manageable and flavorful.
This looks great, I haven’t cooked with ginger wine before, sounds great!
Hello Zestybeandog,
Ginger wine is something I created, here is the link:
This sounds yummy! My family loves tofu and this looks like something that would be a big hit at our house. Thanks for sharing.
Hello Asmita,
You are welcome. I hope this dish is a big hit at your house, keep me posted.
That meal sounds very interesting. Thanks for sharing it. I love your recipes. I need to learn from you how to use sprouted beans in my meals. I’ve been eating it mostly in salads and sandwiches.
Hello Marina,
Did you see my lentils sprouts recipes posts? There were posted on 2/24, 2/25 and 2/26. I will be posting more in the future.
Norma I am making this for sure! Ma Po Tofu is one of my favorite dishes. I am putting it on the menu for this coming week – thanks!
Hello Alyssa,
I hope you like my version.
Yup 🙂 great recipe Norma ~ easy and great with rice hehe!
Hello Daisy,
Yep, this is a really easy recipe.
Oh, wonderful – my favourite Chinese restaurant serves this – I always look forward to it when we go there. As is common here they don’t call dishes by their names, but more by their description instead, so it’s nice to finally find out the name, and a recipe for this wonder! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hello Charles,
That’s interesting, dishes with no name, so how does one place an order?
Hi Norma – sorry, I wasn’t very clear 😀 They just have the description written, so something like “tofu with minced pork and chillies” or something along that vein.
Hello Charles,
Well at least you know what’s on the plate.
Norma, this is a wonderful dish, one of my favourites to warm the heart and stomach 🙂
Hello Lorraine,
Not to mention how quickly it is to prepare.
Norma, your version sounds delicious. I love MP tofu, but often find the restaurant versions too sweet. Thanks for the recipe!
Hello Celia,
Your are welcome. Fresh chilies work great with this dish too.
Yum~ this is my go to dish on lazy days with or without meat.
Hello Mac,
Mine too, cooks in no time, but I must go easy on the spice.
This is of my favorite ways to prepare tofu, can’t wait to try your version!
Hello Leduesrolle,
It is so super easy to prepare. Let me know how you like my version.
I usually include Szechuan pepper, you don’t?
Hello Leduesorelle,
I used to, but because Asian chili sauce is so readily available and Szechuan peppercorns are not I have decided to adjust my recipe accordingly.
This is a spectacular comfort food! I love ma po dou fu especially with noodles!! So delicious and hearty 🙂
Hello Samology,
Yep, it is comfort food not to mention quick and easy to prepare. I never served it with noodles, good idea, must give it a try.
Being a Chinese myself, I really love Chinese food. I can’t really take spicy food, but ma po tofu is a dish I can’t stop eating, no matter how spicy it is! Thanks for sharing! I will definitely try it out soon. (:
Hello Jasline,
You can cut back or eliminate the spice if you cannot take spicey food. Hope you like my veersion.
This looks like something I’ve never tried before. So, I’m gonna give it a try for dinner later this week for me and my hubby. I just need to run to whole foods to get the ingredients first.
Thanks for posting it.
Grandma Kat
XOXOXOXOXO
Hello Grandma Kat,
Thank you for stopping by. I hope you like my recipe.
MMMMM…Now, I know what the title means! Hahahahahha! I love this kind of foods a lot! A beautiful & appetizing dish, thank you! 🙂
Hello Sophie,
You are so welcome. I think you will enjoy this post: https://gardentowok.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/shrimp-in-lobster-sauce-where-is-the-lobster/
I love tofus cooked this way, just like my grandma used to make them 🙂
Hello Yudith,
I hope mine is as good as your grandma’s. Thanks for visiting.
Hi Norma
Thanks so much for your comment on my blog 😀
Your Ma Po Tofu looks SO delicious! It is one of my all time favourite dishes by my mom. But since I’m studying abroad right now, I’ve been without her ma po tofu for much too long, so I will definitely try to attempt this!
Thanks for the recipe!
Hello Pastepants,
You are welcome and thanks for visiting my blog. I hope my Ma Po Tofu is as good as your Mom’s.