Mapo Tofu was invented in the late 1800s in Chengdu, China. It was invented by a woman named Chen Mapo, which is where the name originated from. She sold the tofu in her restaurant, catering to working class people. Not after long her restaurant became a local hit! Mapo Tofu was affordable for everyone, it was made with cheap ingredients such as soy sauce, garlic, and chili. This made it easy to cook on your own as well. Its popularity ballooned because of this, and fit with current Sichuan culture (from the Sichuan province). Over time, people passing through Chengdu found Mapo Tofu and brought it all over China. In the late 1800s to early 1900s, many people were immigrating from China to other countries to find opportunity, and with them came Mapo Tofu. It quickly spread to other countries such as Taiwan, Japan, and the US. These immigrants made their own restaurants internationally, which boosted the popularity of Mapo Tofu even more. Today it is still a popular dish internationally, and especially in Southeast Asia. Chen Mapo’s original restaurant closed down years ago, but many restaurants in Chengdu still use her name in ways such as “Chen Mapo Tofu,” which just goes to show how one person can have such an instrumental influence on culture.

Your recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 block soft tofu
• 200g ground pork or beef (optional)
• 2 tbsp Sichuan bean paste (doubanjiang)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 Sichuan peppercorns (crushed, optional)
• 1 tbsp oil

Steps: 

1. First, heat oil in a pan. Add garlic, ginger, and bean paste, stir-fry for 1 min.
2. Next, add meat (if using), cook until browned
3. After that, add tofu (cut into cubes) and chicken broth. Simmer for 3-4 mins.
4. Add soy sauce and Sichuan peppercorns.
5. Next,  stir in cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce. 
6. Finally, sprinkle scallions on top. Serve with rice.

Sources (paragraph):

Anderson, E. N. “The Food of China.” Yale University Press, 1988. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.

“Mapo Tofu.” Thewoksoflife.com, 24 Sept. 2024, www.thewoksoflife.com/mapo-tofu/. Accessed 28 Jan 2026.

Sources (recipe):

Fuchsia Dunlop. “Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking.” W. W Norton, 2003. Accessed Jan 28, 2026

Combining Sources:

All sources used for this project were found and put together by the SchoolAi chatbot, a large scale language model approved by the school for use on this project.