00:00This dish has been a week in wonder in Japanese homes for generations.
00:04Sizzling poke heats the hot pan, filling your kitchen with that irresistible savoury aroma.
00:09That's the style of my 25 minute marble tofu.
00:13For a printable version of this recipe, visit my website. Just google marble tofu space so
00:18that you can find me. Fair things first, let's brown the ground poke. I'm grabbing a wok and
00:24heating it over medium heat. Once it's nice and hot, add a bit of cooking oil and 100 grams
00:29of ground poke with just a pinch of some pepper.
00:35Now I'm breaking up the meat with my wooden spatula as it cooks. We want to keep going until the
00:41meat
00:41releases its fat and get those beautiful brown bits. Ground poke is definitely the most common meat but
00:48that doesn't mean you can't switch things up. You can use ground beef and poke mix, beef or chicken
00:53for a lighter version. But since they have less fat and milder flavour, I'd recommend adding a bit more
01:00oil or oyster sauce to boost the richness. And for a vegetarian option, soy mince works great too.
01:07Just cook with a little more oil and increase the miso to create a richer flavour.
01:12Next, I'm adding half a finely diced onion. I'll fry them until they're slightly softened and
01:18translucent which takes about 2 to 3 minutes. Now for our first layer of seasoning. I'm adding
01:29half teaspoon of sake, half teaspoon of soy sauce and half tablespoon of miso paste to this mixture
01:35and mixing it all thoroughly. Speaking of miso, I'm using yellow awasa miso paste here but if you
01:41have red and white, you can actually make yellow by mixing them half and half. Alternatively, you can go for
01:47red miso too for a deeper, more intense flavour. Now that it's all seasoned, I'm pushing the seasoned
01:54meat to one side of the pan and adding one tablespoon of toasted sesame oil, half tablespoon of chili
02:00bean paste and teaspoon of greyed garlic to the empty space. You could throw in a teaspoon of freshly
02:06greyed ginger here too if you want. I'm mixing these seasonings together and frying for about 50 seconds
02:13until they're fragrant. Then I'm stirring everything into the meat until it's evenly distributed.
02:19If you want a milder version, you can adjust the heat level by reducing the amount of chili
02:24bean paste. For a very mild version, just use half to one teaspoon. And don't worry about the stuff
02:31stuck to the pan bottom. If you're using cast iron like me, you might see a slightly caramelised layer
02:37forming. That's actually a good thing. It's creating rich yummy flavours and aromatic compounds.
02:45Now I'm adding 200ml of chicken bouillon and then gently placing in 300g of diced firm tofu cubes,
02:54about 2-3cm pieces or about 3 quarters to 1 inch cubes. Bring the mixture to a boil and once
03:02it starts
03:03to bubble, reduce the heat to a simmer. A lot of people ask what type of tofu to use. You
03:08can make
03:08this dish with either silken or firm tofu, but they give you different textures. Firm tofu's hold
03:14its shape better and is easier for beginners to work with. Silken tofu gives you this luxurious creamy
03:21texture but breaks apart more easily. I personally recommend firm tofu or the firmer side of silken tofu.
03:28For the chicken stock, since this is a Chinese inspired dish, I recommend using an Asian style chicken bouillon,
03:35but honestly use whatever works best for you. Now I'm seasoning the broth with 1 tablespoon of sake,
03:41half teaspoon of soy sauce, half tablespoon of oyster sauce and a quarter teaspoon of ground black pepper.
03:48If you don't have sake, you can substitute dried sherry or dried white wine.
03:54I'm letting this simmer uncovered for about 8-10 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by about
04:00half. This isn't a quick stir-fry that patience really pays off in flavour development.
04:07Abo tofu is the beloved Japanese adaptation of Sichuan China's famous maple tofu dish. It's as
04:13fundamental to Japanese family meals as spaghetti bolognese is to British households, a reliable,
04:20beloved staple that appears frequently on dinner tables.
04:25Okay, once it has reduced, I'm gonna take a small bowl and mix 2 tablespoons of cold water
04:32and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch to make a slurry. I'm stirring it until it's completely smooth.
04:40Now I'm pouring the slurry into the pan and mixing gently.
04:46This slurry is going to thicken the sauce and create the iconic glossy coating that sticks
04:52beautifully to the tofu. At this point, I always taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning if needed.
04:58You might want to add a drizzle of chili oil for extra heat, a touch more soy sauce for saltiness,
05:03or even a tiny pinch of sugar to balance the flavours. For some finishing touches,
05:08add some chili oil depending on how hot you want it to be.
05:21And there you have it. I'm dishin' up and sprinkling with chopped green onion and some chili threads
05:26for colour contrast. The most common way to enjoy Mabodofu is over steaming hot rice, which provides
05:33the perfect neutral canvas for this flavour bomb of a sauce.
05:39Want even more delicious recipes? Grab my free cookbook from the link in the description.
05:45Okay, let's go over the ingredients one more time, and if you're ready to cook,
05:49grab the written instructions by clicking the full recipe box with a picture that's about to pop up on
05:54your screen. Here we go, the link to the full recipe is on the screen for you now, and if
06:00you want to
06:01watch more similar videos, don't miss my pork recipe playlist popping up on your screen as well.
06:05Thanks so much for watching, and I hope to see you in the next one. Bye.
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