Mapo Tofu Tots
The tot ideas are still flowing here with only a month until the book launch. I had the idea for these because I wanted a super spicy and meaty sauce on the tots and this was the first thing that came to mind. Mapo tofu is one of my favorite all time dishes and it was great dumped on top of tots instead of served with rice like it normally would be. I used a firmer tofu than you normally would for a mapo tofu recipe so it could hold up on the tot pile, and I made the sauce a little thicker to cling to the tots better.
Pork, peppers, and onions in the pan with the oil that has been infused with Sichuan peppercorn.
Bean paste in the mix along with soy sauce and xiaoxing wine.
Let the tofu simmer in the sauce for a bit before finally thickening it.
Now that’s a pile of tots!
The mapo tofu is such a great fit to be served on tots. The tots add a crispy element to the dish and the heat level is just perfect.
The gravy and tofo combo with the crispy tots almost makes this feel like tot poutine with certain bites.
Mapo Tofu Tots
A pile of tater tots smothered in a mapo tofu style gravy with pork, tofu, and plenty of Sichuan peppercorns. Top with scallions and grab a fork!
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 60 tots
- 2 tablespoons sichuan peppercorns
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 long hot red and green chiles diced
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1 tablespoon grated garlic
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons fermented bean paste
- 3 tablespoons xiaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 overflowing cup cubed firm tofu
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- chopped scallions and more sliced chiles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450. Place the tots on a baking sheet and toss with a splash of oil and pinch of salt. Bake about 15 minutes, remove from oven and flip, then bake another 5 to 10 minutes until crispy and hot.
- Grind half of the Sichuan peppers into a powder. Take the other half and toss them into a pan with the vegetable oil. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove the peppers from the oil.
- Add the onion, hot peppers, and pork to the oil and turn the heat up. Cook 10 minutes until lightly browned and the pork is cooked through and broken up.
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook 2 minutes. Add in the bean paste, wine, soy sauce, and stock. Stir to combine. Add in the tofu and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Mix the cornstarch with water and add a little at a time to the tofu mixture until the sauce reaches the desired thickness.
- Put the tots on a plate and pour the tofu mixture on top. Top with scallions and chile peppers and serve with lots of forks.
