Mapo doufu

Mapo doufu, or mapo tofu, is a popular Chinese dish

Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine originated in China and has become widespread in many other parts of the world — from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa. In recent years, connoisseurs of Chinese cuisine have also sprouted in Eastern Europe and South Asia...

 from the Sichuan

Sichuan

' is a province in Southwestern China with its capital in Chengdu. The current name of the province, 四川 , is an abbreviation of 四川路 , or "Four circuits of rivers", which is itself abbreviated from 川峡四路 , or "Four circuits of rivers and gorges", named after the division of the...

 (Szechuan) province. It is a combination of tofu

Tofu

or called toufu, bean curd is a soft white food made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into blocks. It is of Chinese origin, and part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and others. There are many different varieties...

 (bean curd) set in a spicy chili- and bean-based sauce

Sauce

In cooking, a sauce is liquid or sometimes semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted...

, typically a thin, oily, and bright red suspension, and often topped with minced meat, usually pork

Pork

Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig . The word pork often denotes specifically the fresh meat of the pig, but can be used as an all-inclusive term which includes cured, smoked, or processed meats It is one of the most-commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig...

 or beef

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle . Beef is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of Australia, Europe and America, and is also important in Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia...

. Variations exist with other ingredients such as water chestnuts

Eleocharis dulcis

The Chinese water chestnut , more often called simply the water chestnut, is a grass-like sedge grown for its edible corms. It has tube-shaped, leafless green stems that grow to about 1.5 metres...

, onion

Onion

Onion is a term used for many plants in the genus Allium. They are known by the common name "onion" but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa. Allium cepa is also known as the "garden onion" or "bulb" onion...

s, other vegetables, or wood ear

Wood ear

Wood ear, or 木耳 , can refer to two different closely related species of edible fungus used primarily in Asian cuisine; these are commonly sold in Asian markets shredded and dried....

fungus, but these are rarely considered authentic Sichuanese.

Mapo doufu, or mapo tofu, is a popular Chinese dish

Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine originated in China and has become widespread in many other parts of the world — from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa. In recent years, connoisseurs of Chinese cuisine have also sprouted in Eastern Europe and South Asia...

 from the Sichuan

Sichuan

' is a province in Southwestern China with its capital in Chengdu. The current name of the province, 四川 , is an abbreviation of 四川路 , or "Four circuits of rivers", which is itself abbreviated from 川峡四路 , or "Four circuits of rivers and gorges", named after the division of the...

 (Szechuan) province. It is a combination of tofu

Tofu

or called toufu, bean curd is a soft white food made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into blocks. It is of Chinese origin, and part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and others. There are many different varieties...

 (bean curd) set in a spicy chili- and bean-based sauce

Sauce

In cooking, a sauce is liquid or sometimes semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted...

, typically a thin, oily, and bright red suspension, and often topped with minced meat, usually pork

Pork

Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig . The word pork often denotes specifically the fresh meat of the pig, but can be used as an all-inclusive term which includes cured, smoked, or processed meats It is one of the most-commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig...

 or beef

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle . Beef is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of Australia, Europe and America, and is also important in Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia...

. Variations exist with other ingredients such as water chestnuts

Eleocharis dulcis

The Chinese water chestnut , more often called simply the water chestnut, is a grass-like sedge grown for its edible corms. It has tube-shaped, leafless green stems that grow to about 1.5 metres...

, onion

Onion

Onion is a term used for many plants in the genus Allium. They are known by the common name "onion" but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa. Allium cepa is also known as the "garden onion" or "bulb" onion...

s, other vegetables, or wood ear

Wood ear

Wood ear, or 木耳 , can refer to two different closely related species of edible fungus used primarily in Asian cuisine; these are commonly sold in Asian markets shredded and dried....

fungus, but these are rarely considered authentic Sichuanese.