Mapo Tofu Mapo tofu has its roots in China, but it's a dish that has become a staple in Japanese households and restaurants. https://www.recipetineats.com/mapo-tofu-mince-tofu-spicy-sauce Mapo tofu (sometimes written as 麻婆豆腐, mabo tofu or ma po doufu) is a mouthwatering dish consisting of tofu and minced meat cooked in a spicy sauce. When Marumiya Food Industry and Ajinomoto released the vacuum-packaged Chinese sauces to the grocery shelves in the 1980s, they became the introduction of Chinese cooking to Japanese households. What is Japanese Style Mapo Tofu? Like other Sichuan dishes, it’s usually too spicy for me. You can use any favourite brand of Japanese-style (or even Chinese) hot bean sauce and adjust the seasonings to taste accordingly. Japanese Mapo Tofu Recipe. Among the range of Chinese sauces packaged under CookDo, Mapo Tofu and Mapo Eggplant are the most popular choices. Japanese-Chinese Cooking in Japan. It originates from China in the Sichuan province, where the sauce is usually bright red, packed full of spicy heat and that deliciously “numbing” effect from Sichuan peppercorns . It’s a saucy dish made of key ingredients such as minced pork, soft tofu and spicy chili bean sauce (doubanjiang). So looking at the ingredient list, my doubanjiang tube paste already has this mix of sweet + spicy. Mapo tofu is a popular Chinese dish that originated from Sichuan. Master this recipe for delicious, authentic mapo tofu! Japanese Mapo Tofu vs Chinese Mapo tofu: The Japanese mapo tofu often contains a mix of sweet and spicy hot bean sauce. This recipe uses a Japanese brand of doubanjiang (spicy hot bean sauce). Check out the ingredients and detailed step-by-step photos on the previous page. The Chinese version typically does not contain the sweet bean sauce. Such a convenience!