I am so happy to have you here today to tell you about my healthy mapo tofu recipe, which is also vegetarian and vegan-friendly! This is the dish I grew up eating, and therefore holds a special place in my heart. But as much as I love mapo tofu, it isn’t the healthiest food you can have. Also, it has ground meat. That also became an issue when I became vegan.
But fear not, I am here to share my healthy vegan mapo tofu recipe that is delicious and guilt-free.
I am so glad to have someone like you who is also a health freak or a vegan like me, so let’s get started with the healthy mapo tofu recipe.
Introduction to Healthy Mapo Tofu Recipe
An Iconic Chinese Dish from Sichuan
Mapo tofu is an iconic Chinese dish from Sichuan province.
It has soft tofu as the main ingredient, with a spicy sauce featuring chili paste, fermented bean paste douban, and iconic Sichuan pepper that numbs your tung. It also traditionally comes with minced meat.
The one I’m going to share with you today is the version with a Korean twist to the original Mapo Tofu. Mapo tofu is one of the most popular and well-known Chinese dishes in Korea and, therefore, has slightly changed to capture the Koreans’ taste preferences.
I love both traditional Sichuan Mapo tofu and Korean fusion Mapo Tofu! But it has been easier for me to learn the Chinese Korean recipe as I grew up with it.
My Childhood Memory of Mapo Tofu
Growing up in South Korea, Mapo tofu used to be on the lunch menus in school. That’s how I know it.
We, as little kids, would line up in front of our classroom to get our lunch. (There used to be no separate cafeteria at my school.)
When mapo tofu was on the menu, you could tell right away it was mapo tofu by the fragrant Sichuan pepper.
How I Came Up with a Healthy Mapo Tofu
After changing my diet to vegan in 2020, though, I couldn’t order mapo tofu at a Chinese restaurant.
Then I decided to make it myself.
But as a health-conscious person, I couldn’t cook my food with so much oil and starch! Not only that, I wanted to change a few ingredients in mapo tofu to make it even healthier.
So here it came, my healthy mapo tofu recipe!
Healthy Mapo Tofu Recipe Ingredients
In this recipe, I have changed a few ingredients to make this dish more pact with nutrition (as always), while keeping the richness in flavor.
Also, I find this recipe way more filling than the original Mapo tofu.
These are not only the key ingredients of Mapo tofu, but also why this recipe is different from traditional recipes.
Then there are the ingredients to make a rich, filling, and healthy mapo tofu recipe.
1. Tofu
Traditionally, soft tofu, or silken tofu, is used in mapo tofu.
However, it is often more difficult to find soft tofu in Norway, where I live. I suppose it might be the case for you too.
Besides, I really love the texture of hard tofu, and it is more filling.
It is totally up to your preference to choose the kind of tofu, as I believe any kind of tofu will work for this recipe.
2. Chili Bean Paste (Doubanjiang)
This is the key sauce providing Mapo tofu’s characteristic spiciness and deep flavor.
It is made from fermented beans and chili peppers.
If you don’t have doubanjiang, you can substitute it with Korean Gochu-jang.
The final taste would be different, but it is delicious regardless and that would give you the Korean style Mapo-tofu.
3. Thickener
Corn starch is what gives the Chinese dish its signature runny consistency in the sauce.
Instead of starch, I use ground flax seed to thicken and have a similar runny texture in the sauce.
Healthy Mapo Tofu Meat-Replacement Ingredients
Traditionally, ground beef or pork is used in mapo tofu.
To make it vegan or vegetarian-friendly and healthier, there are three types of plant-based ingredients that I use here: soy bits/plant-based ground beef, mushrooms, and lentil beans.
Use plant-based alternatives here to add meatiness to this dish.
1. Plant-Based Ground Beef
Beyond Meat Beyond Beef Plant-Based Ground 16oz
This plant-based ground beef from Beyond Meat is not only a great option for vegans and vegetarians but for anyone looking for a healthier and more sustainable option than choosing meat!
Beyond beef has 35% less saturated fat than 80/20 ground beef, and has 20g of protein per serving.
This is honestly so close to real meat that I don’t even have to tell my guests that the food is vegan. When they know about it, they are so surprised!
Plant Basics – Hearty Plant Protein – Just Like Chicken 1lb
This soy bit is another great plant-based alternative to ground beef.
I love it because it has a very long shelf life, so you can literally have many packages of it in your cupboard for months.
This is always in my pantry.
Also, the soy bits soak up the sauce very well and have a very meaty texture.
Just soak it in warm water for 30 minutes, then squeeze the water out. Then your ground meat is ready to use!
2. Champignon
Using a little bit of mushroom (or a lot) is a great way to have a meaty texture.
Champignons don’t have strong fragrances like shiitake or truffles that will hinder the flavor of mapo tofu.
It only adds deep umami flavor and a nice texture to the dish.
I was once at a restaurant with my parents, and they had mushroom dumplings. The mushrooms had a bite and texture that were so similar to meat, so I kept asking my parents if they really didn’t have any meat. After being vegan for several years, I honestly couldn’t find any differences between real meat and mushrooms.
3. Lentil Beans
Last but not least, another ingredient I use for the ground beef replacement is lentil beans. They are so hearty and delicious, and they add so many nutrients to the dish!
This may change the taste of the mapo tofu slightly from the original mapo tofu, so it’s not for everyone.
But if you’d like to add more nutrition to your already-healthy mapo tofu, try lentil beans!
Summary of Healthy Ingredients
So I gave you six ingredients that were quite unique about this recipe.
- Medium to Hard Tofu
- Doubanjiang or Gochujang
- Ground Flaxseed
- Plant-Based Ground Beef
- Champignon
- Lentil Beans
More ingredients are healthy, like Sichuan peppers and cabbage, in this recipe, but these ingredients above are what make this recipe different from other mapo tofu recipes.
Then let’s start cooking!
Healthy Mapo Tofu Recipe | Vegetarian & Vegan Friendly
Vegan Mapo Tofu Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Rinse lentil beans.
- Soak the soy bits, shiitake mushrooms, and lentil beans in the water and leave it for 20 minutes.
- Finely chop aromatics: Onion, garlic, ginger, green onions.
- Once the shiitake mushroom is soft enough, finely chop shiitake mushrooms and optional cabbage leaves.
- Add all the ingredients in a pot and boil gently for 10 minutes.
- Cut tofu into cubes and add it to the pot. Pour the sauce including chilli bean paste, ground flaxseed, soy sauce, and gochugaru.
- Toast and grind the Sichuan peppercorn. Sprinkle Sichuan peppercorn. Taste and adjust seasoning with soy sauce as needed.
- Garnish the dish with green onion tops.
Notes
Tips
- I use equal parts of garlic and ginger.
- You can also use toasted sesame seeds for garnish.
Other Variations of Mapo Tofu
Like most Chinese dishes, many variations of mapo tofu were created from mapo tofu both within mainland China and overseas.
Much Sichuan Pepper in the Original Mapo Tofu
The original Mapo Tofu from Sichuan province in China was made with silken tofu, that is very soft.
It is almost like swallowing sauce in a big chunk.
The biggest characteristic of the original mapo tofu would be the spices in the recipe: the Sichuan pepper.
It is also used in Korea, but it is used a lot more in China. It is said that when you take a bite, your mouth will be numb for 5 minutes, and you will not be able to eat anything.
Do you like Sichuan pepper and use it a lot?
Peanut Oil or Sesame Oil in Taiwan
In the 1960s in Taiwan, mapo tofu made with peanut oil or sesame oil was popular. It was to make the mapo tofu more savory.
Related article: Best Sesame Oil | Tips & Top 3 Recommendations as a Korean
Mabomen in Japan
Mapo tofu is often eaten with rice, but you could try the mapo tofu on noodles! In Japan, there is a dish called maboment, which is a noodle dish with mapo tofu on top.
Summary of Healthy Mapo Tofu Recipe
Serve your healthy mapo tofu with some danmuji or kimchi!
Enjoy your Mapo tofu with a steaming bowl of rice to balance out the spiciness and soak up the flavorful sauce.
I served the Mapo tofu for dinner with some black rice as our staple food.
I also like to serve it with danmuji, Korean pickled radish, to go well with Chinese or Chinese Korean dishes like this.
This was one of the first dishes that my Korean-Norwegian husband asked to cook together when we first started going out
I asked him what he wanted for dinner, and he said he missed Mapo tofu. So yes, this is the kind of dish that can get you addicted!
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