Yesterday I made mapo tofu for dinner. It goes wonderfully with rice and is one of my favorite dishes.

As many of you may know, the “mapo” in mapo tofu is a nickname for a pockmarked (ma) landlady (po), referring to Chen Liu Shi, who ran the Chen Xingsheng Restaurant.

This was in the late Qing Dynasty, in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The tofu dish made by “Chen Mapo” came to be called “Chen Mapo Tofu.” As many shops began making it, the name was shortened to “mapo tofu,” omitting “Chen,” and the dish became the common name.

The original shop, Chen Xingsheng Restaurant, changed its name to “Chen Mapo Tofu Shop” due to its reputation. It continues to preserve the traditional flavor unchanged in Chengdu to this day. There are also franchise shops in Japan, so please visit one if you have the chance.

This recipe was made by watching the YouTube channel “Kiwami-Meshi.” It turned out incredibly delicious, so I hope you'll give it a try.

Hakusan Porcelain's Noodle Bowl L Shallow
https://www.shokunin.com/en/hakusan/mendon.html
Wadasuke Seisakusho's Cooking & Serving Spoon S
https://www.shokunin.com/en/wadasuke/spoon.html
Chen Mapo Tofu in Japan
https://chenmapo.jp/

Reference Recipe
https://youtu.be/tNSB_EKZzuQ