Mapo Tofu (Hot Cook Version)
麻婆豆腐【ホットクック】 · Mabo Dofu
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Mapo tofu is a staple of Japanese-style Chinese cooking, and the preschool version leaves out the chili so even the youngest children can enjoy the savory miso-and-soy sauce over soft cubes of tofu. This recipe is written for the Sharp Hot Cook automatic cooking pot: the ground pork and vegetables sauté in the inner pot, the tofu and sauce go in, and the machine does the stirring. Finely chopped carrot goes in too, as it does in preschool kitchens, adding a little sweetness and color along with its vitamins.
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Ingredients
Amounts for 1 child (1 serving). An adult counts as 2 servings.
One serving here is 1.5× the portion served to a child in a Japanese preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 72 gfirm tofu
- 9 gcarrot
- 16.5 ggreen onion (naga negi)Japanese long onion, thicker and milder than Western scallions. Substitute: Scallions or the white part of a leek.
- 21 gground pork
Seasonings
- 3.3 gsesame oil
- 45 gwater
- 1.5 gsugar
- 2.3 gmisoFermented soybean paste. Salty and savory, it is Japan's everyday seasoning for miso soup and many simmered dishes. Substitute: Any light (white or awase) miso. Misos differ in saltiness, so start with a little less and taste. Some misos are made with barley or wheat, so check the label if you avoid them.
- 3 gsoy sauce
- 0.1 gsalt
- 3 gpotato starch (katakuriko)Japanese potato starch used for thickening sauces and coating fried foods. Substitute: Cornstarch: start with the same amount and add a little more if it is still thin. It thickens a little less than potato starch and needs a couple of minutes at a gentle bubble to reach full thickness.
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- green onion (naga negi) (ねぎ)
- Japanese long onion, thicker and milder than Western scallions. Substitute: Scallions or the white part of a leek.
- miso (みそ)
- Fermented soybean paste. Salty and savory, it is Japan's everyday seasoning for miso soup and many simmered dishes. Substitute: Any light (white or awase) miso. Misos differ in saltiness, so start with a little less and taste. Some misos are made with barley or wheat, so check the label if you avoid them.
- potato starch (katakuriko) (かたくり粉)
- Japanese potato starch used for thickening sauces and coating fried foods. Substitute: Cornstarch: start with the same amount and add a little more if it is still thin. It thickens a little less than potato starch and needs a couple of minutes at a gentle bubble to reach full thickness. Read the guide: Katakuriko (Japanese Potato Starch) and What to Use Instead → Guide: japanese-school-lunch.com/articles/katakuriko-potato-starch/
Directions
- 1
Finely chop the carrot and green onion and put them in the inner pot. Add the ground pork, breaking it up as you go, then add the sesame oil. Select [Manual → Stir-fry] and cook for 5 minutes.
- 2
Cut the tofu into 1.5 cm cubes and add it to the pot.
- 3
Mix the water, sugar, miso, soy sauce, salt and potato starch together until smooth, then add to the pot. Select [Manual → Custom heat setting → Stir-fry on medium heat → Stir occasionally] and cook for 15 minutes.
- 4
If there is too much liquid left, select [Manual → Reduce] and cook off the excess liquid until the sauce is as thick as you like.
Cooking Notes
This is a mild mapo tofu with no chili heat. In preschool kitchens we add carrot to our mapo tofu so the children get some vitamins along with it.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 157.5 kcal | 315 kcal | 157.5 kcal |
| Protein | 9.6 g | 19.2 g | 9.6 g |
| Fat | 10.5 g | 21 g | 10.5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 6.6 g | 13.2 g | 6.6 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.9 g | 1.8 g | 0.9 g |
| Calcium | 81 mg | 162 mg | 81 mg |
| Iron | 1.5 mg | 3 mg | 1.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 157.5 kcal | 9.6 g | 10.5 g | 6.6 g | 0.9 g | 81 mg | 1.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 315 kcal | 19.2 g | 21 g | 13.2 g | 1.8 g | 162 mg | 3 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese preschool portion); an adult serving is double. They were calculated by a licensed Japanese nutritionist using the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. "Salt equivalent" is sodium × 2.54, the standard Japanese measure. Allergen flags cover egg, milk and wheat only and come from the nutritionist's records. Soy sauce and miso are made with wheat but are usually allowed on Japanese wheat-free school menus, so check with your doctor.
