Tofu as an ingredient often takes on the characteristics of whatever sauce or preparation is being used to dress it. In the case of mapo tofu, those soft, placid blocks of tofu guard a scorching ...

Mapo tofu (stir-fried tofu in hot sauce) was created by the wife of a small restaurant owner named Chen Senfu in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Mrs. Chen lived in the Wan Fu Bridge area in the northern ...

This recipe is one of Slate’s 10 Best Recipes of 2025. This oil-slicked stew from China’s Sichuan province is one you don’t just taste but feel. Mapo tofu perfectly embodies the Sichuanese flavor ...

A decades-long fascination with the much-loved Sichuan dish inspires research — and eventually a little experimentation. By Andrea Nguyen Anyone who says tofu is bland or boring hasn’t eaten mapo tofu ...