Grilled beef Gives Mapo Tofu a Special Flavor

By Ryo Kato/ Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

12:30 JST, May 4, 2025

Cooking expert Ryo Imai offers a recipe for popular Chinese dish mapo tofu in his own original style, developed through trial and error to make it especially tasty. Typical Japanese recipes for the dish use pork, but his version uses beef instead.

Using beef in mapo tofu — also sometimes called mabo tofu or mabo dofu in Japan — is common in Chinese formulations of the dish. But while those recipes usually call for the meat to be minced, Imai instead dices and then grills it, bringing out its delicious flavor.

To make the most of the sweetness of the beef’s fat and the sweetness of the tofu, Imai also does not use soup stock in his mapo tofu.

“Year after year I tried developing my recipe in various ways, and I finally landed on this,” Imai said. “It’s a simple mapo tofu with everything unnecessary taken out.”

Stir-frying the beef until it becomes fragrant really brings out the fat, which is key to the recipe’s flavor. The stir-fried beef also pleasantly accents the mouthfeel of the dish.

Douchijiang, a paste made from fermented black soybeans and other ingredients, is often used to season mapo tofu. However, Imai’s recipe instead calls for the cook to start with whole fermented beans — called douchi — and chop them. This means that they do not dissolve and give off a savory taste when chewed, providing a unique flavor to the whole dish.

After stir-frying the beef, he adds the seasonings and keeps mixing. Then he adds tofu and a mix of liquid condiments, brings it all to a boil and simmers over low-medium heat.

“Mapo tofu isn’t a stir-fried dish but a simmered dish. Simmering brings out the flavor of the tofu,” Imai said.

He lets it simmer until the tofu absorbs the flavor of the mix, using its changing color as a yardstick. Simmering helps remove the water from the tofu, making it less likely to break apart when eating.

Imai adds in katakuriko potato starch mixed with water; once this thickens, he brings it to a simmer over high heat. This is an important part of the process, as it makes the sauce more aromatic.

When eating the dish with a renge Chinese spoon, you can really feel the flavor of the beef. This version of the dish is less greasy and easier to eat than pork mapo tofu. The pieces of diced beef are highly satisfying to eat. Imai’s recipe may change your perception of mapo tofu.

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Make salted tofu as well

Another tofu dish that Imai recommends is salted tofu.

Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt on a block of momen firm tofu, wrap in a paper towel, place in a shallow tray and leave in the refrigerator for half a day. Combine 2 tablespoons each of soy sauce, sesame oil and sake and 1 tablespoon each of sugar and vinegar in a small saucepan, and then bring to a boil. Cut 1 bunch of nira garlic chives into small pieces, then place in a heatproof bowl with 1 knob of finely chopped ginger and the heated seasonings. Mix, then let cool and pour over the tofu slices.

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Mapo tofu with beef

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 1 block kinugoshi soft tofu
• 100 grams beef (for grilling)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 knob ginger
• 1 tbsp douchi fermented black soybeans
• 1 tsp doubanjiang chili bean paste
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 2 tbsp negi green onion (finely chopped)
• Rayu chili oil to taste
• Sichuan pepper (powder) to taste



Directions:

1. Cut tofu into 1.5-centimeter cubes.

2. Dice beef into roughly 1-centimeter cubes.

3. Grate garlic and ginger. Finely chop douchi. Mix them with doubanjiang chili bean paste in a bowl.

4. In another bowl, pour 150 millimeters of water, 1½ tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, and mix.

5. Heat 1 tablespoon of salad oil in a frying pan, add beef and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until crispy.

6. Reduce heat to low, add the seasonings from Step 3 and stir-fry until fragrant.

7. Add tofu and the seasoning liquid from Step 4 and increase heat. When it reaches a boil, reduce heat to low-medium and simmer for 3 minutes.

8. Mix 1 tablespoon of katakuriko starch with the same amount of water and add to the pan. When the mix thickens, increase heat to high and simmer for 20 seconds. Add negi green onion and rayu chili oil, stir quickly, place in a bowl and sprinkle with Sichuan pepper.

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  The Yomiuri Shimbun
  Dice beef into small pieces for grilling.

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  The Yomiuri Shimbun
  Stir-fry the beef with salad oil.

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