Daughter is making mapo tofu!
She’s using this recipe
And open to all manner of short cuts and substitutions. If you seen the counter depth refrigerator thread, you may think I have every condiment, but I don’t have this one.
Here are some of the things I do have (as well as PSTOCCO) , and so far we are using Korean doenjang because it has some of the same letters and ingredients. There are a .ot ofchilis, oil, and chili oil in the recipe. Any tips? .
How sweet is the Chu Hou paste? If it’s not too sweet, I would be inclined to try a combo of that and the chili paste with garlic. The Doenjang is going to be missing the fermented flavor of doubianjiang (I think). BTW, if you’re inclined to add another condiment to your collection, I buy this doubianjiang for mapo tofu - it’s the best one I have found thus far: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A9OF6NS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
There really is no substitute for doubanjiang in mapo tofu. I guess there is a Japanese version of doubanjiang that is a bit less spicy, and Lee Kum Kee makes a version as well (its labeled as Toban Djan), but I would just mail order some of the real thing made in Pixian such as in the link @biondanonima shared, if you can’t find a source locally. I’m in San Francisco and a few Asian markets stock it here.
I got a package of this from Mala Market a few months ago but haven’t tried it yet (looks like its out of stock at the moment):
Looks delicious despite the subs. I agree that the flavor of real doubianjiang is hard to duplicate, but sometimes we must make do, and in the process, make something wonderful!
I will certainly be on the lookout for it. Daughter really likes mapo tofu, and I like to see her cook.
Her Mapo looks good! And you are spending quality time together.
Spicy broad bean paste is used as a flavour base in many Sichuan dishes. Add a jar to your vast collection of pastes and condiments. The section for this bean paste is big in any supermarket in Chengdu. You know they use it a lot.
I also like fermented whole black beans. I never rinse them. And sometimes I use Lao Gan Ma together with the black beans.
My Mapo is quicker to make as I don’t use any meat in it.
