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Halal-conscious recipe

Mapo tofu with Halal beef

Sichuan mapo tofu with crisp Halal beef mince instead of pork, chilli bean paste, ginger and Sichuan pepper, made with water or Halal chicken stock.

  • Cuisine Chinese
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 4 bowls with rice
  • Time 30 min
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
A bowl of mapo tofu
Photograph from our ingredient library: a bowl of mapo tofu, not the finished dish.

Photo: Sichuanfoodlover · CC BY-SA 4.0

Why Halal checks matter here

Mapo tofu is often made with pork mince, the beef in other versions needs Halal slaughter, and the stock is often chicken.

Mapo tofu is soft tofu in a red, numbing sauce of Sichuan chilli bean paste and Sichuan pepper, with a little crisp minced meat through it. Classic Chengdu versions use beef; many restaurants and recipes, BBC Good Food's included, use pork mince instead (see mapo tofu).

This version keeps BBC Good Food's method and uses Halal beef mince, which needs Halal slaughter like any beef (see beef). The stock is Halal chicken stock or plain water, which the original already allows. The tofu, bean paste and black beans are plant foods.

Fry the beef until it is properly crisp before you lift it out: it is there for texture as much as flavour. Fold the tofu in gently so the cubes stay whole, and taste before adding any salt.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Pork mince Many mapo tofu recipes, BBC Good Food's included, use pork mince. Use Halal beef mince, as classic Chengdu versions use beef. See Mapo tofu and Pork.
  • Beef mince Beef is Halal only from Halal slaughter. Buy from a Halal butcher or a certified pack. See Beef.
  • Chicken stock Shop chicken stock can be made from birds that were not slaughtered the Halal way. Use Halal chicken stock or water; the original allows water.

Safe substitutes

  • Pork mince → Halal beef mince
  • Chicken stock of unknown source → Halal chicken stock, or water

Allergens

soy (tofu, bean paste, black beans), peanuts (groundnut oil)

Ingredients

Mapo tofu

  • 450 g (1 lb) tofu
  • 45 ml (3 tbsp) groundnut oil
  • 100 g (3½ oz) Halal beef mince, in place of the pork
  • 2 tbsp Sichuan chilli bean paste (doubanjiang)
  • 1½ tbsp fermented black beans, rinsed (optional)
  • 2 cm piece (¾ in piece) ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 200 ml (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) light Halal chicken stock, or water
  • 1 tsp cornflour, mixed with 1 tbsp water
  • 6 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal
  • 1 tbsp Sichuan chilli oil (optional)
  • ½ tsp Sichuan peppercorns, crushed
  • to serve cooked white rice

Method

  1. Soak the tofu. Set out all the ingredients first. Drain the tofu, cut it into 1.5 cm cubes, put it in a bowl and cover with very hot water while you cook the rest.
  2. Crisp the beef. Heat a wok, add the groundnut oil and get it very hot. Fry the beef mince until crisp, then lift it out with a slotted spoon, leaving the oil behind.
  3. Build the sauce. Fry the chilli bean paste in the oil for a few minutes, stirring, until fragrant. Add the black beans, if using, the ginger and the garlic and cook for about a minute, then pour in the stock or water and let it bubble.
  4. Add the tofu. Stir in the cornflour mixture. Drain the tofu and fold it into the sauce, then add the spring onions and the beef.
  5. Finish. Add the chilli oil, if using, and scatter over the Sichuan pepper. The sauce shouldn't need salt, since the bean paste and black beans are salty. Serve with white rice.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Mapo tofu' (tofu soaked in hot water, mince fried crisp in groundnut oil, Sichuan chilli bean paste, fermented black beans, ginger and garlic, chicken stock or water thickened with cornflour, spring onions, chilli oil and crushed Sichuan peppercorns). We replaced its 100 g of pork mince with Halal beef mince, the minced meat used in classic Chengdu versions, and specified Halal chicken stock or water. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Mapo tofu — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    Serves 4: 450 g tofu, 3 tbsp groundnut oil, 100 g pork mince, 2 tbsp Sichuan chilli bean paste, fermented black beans (optional), ginger, garlic, 200 ml light chicken stock or water, cornflour, spring onions, chilli oil (optional), Sichuan peppercorns, white rice. We replaced the pork with Halal beef.

  2. Mapo tofu analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    Mince, wok and seasoning checks for mapo tofu.

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