Mapo Tofu with HOT SPICE "Shibikara"

HOT SPICE "Shibikara" is one of the most intensely stimulating blends in the entire Inspice seasoning series. The tingle of Sichuan pepper. The heat of chili. The bite of black pepper. So far, everything matches the name.

What makes it interesting is the fourth element: the "coolness" of cassia, written clearly into the blend. A cooling note in a heat-forward product is there because tingling is perceived as coldness.

Mapo tofu is one of the few dishes that puts all four to work. Added all at once, though, the aroma of Sichuan pepper is the first to escape, so the spice goes in twice. Half into the oil with the doubanjiang, half after the heat is off. The first half spreads the tingle; the second half raises the aroma.

That is the only place you change anything. Make the rest as you always do, and your usual mapo tofu moves up a rank. The stimulation is genuinely pronounced, though, so if this is your first time, start small.

Total time: about 35 min

Ingredients (Serves 2)

• HOT SPICE "Shibikara" — about 1/2 tsp (a guide; adjust to your preferred heat)
• Firm tofu (momen) — 1 block (300 g)
• Ground pork — 150 g
• Japanese long onion (naganegi) — 1/2
• Garlic — 1 clove
• Ginger — 1 knob
• Doubanjiang (chili bean paste) — 1 tsp
• Tianmianjiang (sweet bean paste) — 1 tsp (miso also works)
• Sake — 1 tbsp
• Soy sauce — 1 1/2 tbsp
• Chicken stock — 150 ml (1 tsp chicken stock powder dissolved in hot water)
• Potato starch — 1 tbsp
• Water — 2 tbsp
• Oil — 1 tbsp
• Sesame oil — 1 tsp

Silken tofu works too. In that case, boil it for about a minute in water with a pinch of salt added, then lift it out into a colander. The surface firms up and the cubes keep their corners in the pan. The boiling water is discarded, so the seasoning stays exactly as strong.

Preparation

1. Cut the firm tofu into 2 cm cubes and drain in a colander for about 10 minutes. Leftover water makes the sauce watery.
2. Finely chop the long onion and set half of it aside for finishing.
3. Finely chop the garlic and ginger.
4. Dissolve the potato starch in the 2 tbsp of water.

Instructions

1. Put the oil, garlic and ginger in a frying pan over low heat and cook for about 1 minute, until fragrant.
2. Add the ground pork and cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes, breaking it up, until it changes color and the fat turns clear.
3. Add the doubanjiang and tianmianjiang and cook over low heat for about 30 seconds to blend them into the oil.
4. Add half of the "Shibikara" (about 1/4 tsp) and stir it into the oil. Carried by the oil, the tingle spreads evenly through the whole dish.
5. Add the chicken stock, 1 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce and the sake. Once it comes to a boil, add the tofu. Do not stir the tofu — shake the pan to distribute it.
6. Simmer over low heat for about 3 minutes.
7. Add half of the long onion, take the pan off the heat for a moment, and pour in the potato starch slurry. Return it to medium heat and stir in wide strokes, holding it at a bubble all the way to the center of the pan for about 30 seconds. Stop short of that and the thickening slackens while you eat, and it will not come back. When you taste, do not return the used chopsticks to the pan.
8. Drizzle in the sesame oil, turn off the heat, and sprinkle the remaining "Shibikara" over everything.
9. Plate, and scatter the reserved long onion over the top. Raw and untouched by the heat, it becomes a bite of texture inside the soft tofu.

The 1/2 teaspoon is only a guide. Tolerance for heat and tingling varies, so if this is your first time, start with half and add more at the table.