Mapo Tofu

I wanted to make this recipe for a while already, but I never got the change to actually do it. The last time I was at the Asian supermarket I managed to get all the ingredients for this Mapo Tofu. And it was soooo tasty! At first I was really puzzled with all the different recipes, but I think I found the perfect balance for a tasty version that's not too spicy. Don't get me wrong, I like spicy a lot, but not too spicy! Ingredients: • 300 gram tofu • 250 gram minced pork • 1 tbsp chilli flakes • 3 tbsp chilli oil • 2 tbsp vegetable oil • 1 tbsp sichuan peppercorns • 2 garlic cloves • 1 tsp chopped fresh ginger • 3 tbsp spicy bean paste • 1 tsp fermented black beans • 2 tbsp shaoxing wine • 1 tbsp light soy sauce • 100 ml water • 1 tsp sugar • water-cornstarch mixture • spring onions • 1. Get a dry pan and heat up your sichuan peppercorns until they starts to glisten and their aroma starts to fill up your kitchen. Get them into a mortar and grind them into a fine powder as soon as they are cooled down. 2. Heat up some oil in a large pan or wok and add the minced meat, garlic, chilli flakes and ginger. As soon as the meat it halfway cooked, add the chilli oil, fermented beans and red bean paste. 3. When the meat is cooked, add the wine, soy sauce, water and sugar. Slice the tofu into cubes and put on top of the minced meat. Let simmer in a closed pan for 5 minutes. 4. After 5 minutes, take the lid off of the pan and simmer for another 5 minutes before stirring. After stirring, add half of the sichuan pepper and give it another 5 minutes. 5. After a total of 15 minutes, check how thick your sauce is. If it still is a little runny, add some of the cornstarch mixture together with the spring onions and stir a final last time (be careful not to break the tofu). 6. Garnish with the rest of the sichuan pepper and spring onion and serve with white rice! Enjoy!