Delicious Homemade Mabo Tofu! Made with No MSG!

You have to admit it. Mabo Tofu, in all of it's meaty, savory, tasty, umami-ness is just what you crave for dinner. A delicious combination of ground pork, soft tofu, scallions, minced ginger, garlic, and bean-based sauces, it is a perfect meal for a protein boost. And it's addicting.

My husband is allergic to MSG(monosodium glutamate), so I wanted to find a way I could make Mabo/Mapo Tofu without buying one of those easy packages of sauce. What I found through another online recipe and my own experiments, is a fresh Mabo Tofu that beats an easy sauce packet any day!

Delicious Homemade No-MSG Mabo Tofu

adapted from the Appetite for China blog

Ingredients for sauce: 

• 1 tablespoon fermented black bean sauce (this can be find in Chinese stores)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon miso paste (no MSG miso paste)
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon Japanese/Korean/Chinese cooking wine (make sure it contains no MSG)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes (like the kind you put on pizza)

Other ingredients:

• 1 package soft tofu, diced into 1 inch cubes (but doesn't have to be exact)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3 scallions (just the white part, save the green part for garnish), thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger, minced (I added a little more ginger, because I just love it. But don't overdo it)
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 4 mushrooms (optional)

*I left out cornstarch and it tasted just fine!

Method:

• In a separate bowl, combine and mix the sauce ingredients and set aside
• Chop up and mince all vegetables
• Heat up a pan to pretty hot, I put it at level 8 (if that makes sense), and add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Add in the ground pork and fry in hot pan for 4 minutes or until cooked, splitting up the meat while cooking
• Reduce to medium high heat and add all the vegis, stir fry them for a couple of minutes
• Add in the chopped tofu
• Mix in the sauce and cook for another 7 minutes uncovered, let the tofu soak in the sauce 

Serve over white or brown rice, with a garnish of thinly sliced scallions (green part)

Most Importantly, Enjoy!! :)