Ma Po Tofu

Name: Ma Po Tofu
Prep time: 13 min
Cook time: 24 min
Total time: 37 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 450g Tofu; 100g Minced Beef; 1/2 tbs Sesame Seed Oil; 1 1/2 tsp Doubanjiang; 1/2 tsp Fermented Black Beans; 1 tbs Pepper; 1/2 tsp Salt; 1/2 tsp Sichuan pepper; 1 tbs Soy Sauce; 400ml Water; 2 tbs Olive Oil; 2 chopped Scallions; 4 Spring Onions; 2 cloves chopped Garlic; 4 sliced Ginger; 2 1/2 tbs Water; 1 tbs Cornstarch

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Beef recipe with Chinese flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 71 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 37 min total

450g Tofu
100g Minced Beef
1/2 tbs Sesame Seed Oil
1 1/2 tsp Doubanjiang
1/2 tsp Fermented Black Beans
1 tbs Pepper
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Sichuan Pepper
1 tbs Soy Sauce
400ml Water
2 tbs Olive Oil
2 chopped Scallions
4 Spring Onions
2 cloves chopped Garlic
4 sliced Ginger
2 1/2 tbs Water
1 tbs Cornstarch

Step-by-step instructions

Add a small pinch of salt and sesame oil to minced beef. Mix well and set aside.
Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 and ½ tablespoons of water in a small bowl to make water starch.
Cut tofu into square cubes (around 2cms). Bring a large amount of water to a boil and then add a pinch of salt. Slide the tofu in and cook for 1 minute. Move out and drain.
Get a wok and heat up around 2 tablespoons of oil, fry the minced meat until crispy. Transfer out beef out and leave the oil in.
Fry doubanjiang for 1 minute over slow fire and then add garlic, scallion white, ginger and fermented black beans to cook for 30 seconds until aroma. Then mix pepper flakes in.
Add water to the seasonings and bring to boil over high fire. Gently slide the tofu cubes. Add light soy sauce and beef.Slow the heat after boiling and then simmer for 6-8 minutes. Then add chopped garlic greens.
Stir the water starch and then pour half of the mixture to the simmering pot. Wait for around 30 seconds and then pour the other half. You can slightly taste the tofu and add pinch of salt if not salty enough. By the way, if you feel it is too spicy, add some sugar can milder the taste. But be carefully as the broth is very hot at this point.
Transfer out when almost all the seasonings stick to tofu cubes. Sprinkle Szechuan peppercorn powder (to taste)and chopped garlic greens if using.
Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Why this works on a weeknight

Ma Po Tofu lands at about 37 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Stir-Fry collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Ma Po Tofu actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥢 Stir-Fry Beef Chinese