Meatless Vegetarian Mapo Tofu

Recently, there came an opportunity* to try out Meatless Farms mince/ grounds made essentially from pea/soy proteins which is similar to plant-based meat made by market leaders Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods.

It has been a long time since I made Mapo Tofu; yet today, seeking unfamiliar "grounds" (pun intended) with this new ingredient: meatless mince/grounds and roping in a long forgotten dish Mapo Tofu, making Meatless Vegetarian Mapo Tofu, essentially plant-based yet high in protein.


Start by frying/pre-cooking the mince with garlic and onions - this "fried" mince serves as "blank canvas" for other stir-fries too, not just Mapo Tofu.

If you have a little more time to spare, try making your own vegetarian meatless mince (Vegetarian Simmered "Meat" Sauce) from scratch with diced mushrooms and tofu. It is definitely healthier and taste more naturally delicious than store-bought plant-based mince which is still partially processed but  wins on convenience.

As usual, I opted for fuss-free method of oven-cooking the mince with garlic and onions (to mimic the wok-flavors of garlic, onion and ground meat sizzling in the hot wok) instead of pan-frying.

Certainly, it might be faster to cook this dish over the stove; but for personal reasons, it was easier to use oven + rice cooker as I can multi-task with other work while the oven and rice cooker did the cooking. Standing behind the stove, eye-balling the cooking in the pan is totally a different time-game compared to this relatively "switch-off' mode of letting the oven and rice-cooker do the work. So, for those in a similar situation, this method might work to your benefit.


Meatless Vegetarian Mapo Tofu
Ingredients:
8-oz pack of Meatless Farm meatless mince/ground*
Bunch of green onions, chopped, yielding about 1-2 cups of chopped green onions
2tbsp minced garlic
10-15 oz firm tofu, slice to bite-size cubes
1 tsp miso, dissolved in 1/2 cup water (Note: This is a good alternative/substitute for those who find it difficult to get Chinese-style bean paste Dou Ban Jiang typically used in Mapo Tofu. Miso, also a bean-based product, imparts the necessary bean flavors and depth). Avoid cooking miso in continuous high heat since miso being fermented food, contains good active cultures of bacteria/ probiotics that might possibly be destroyed under high heat.
1 tbsp chili paste (current favorite is Trader Joe’s Italian “Bomba” Hot Pepper Sauce made from crushed fermented Calabrian chilis)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Cooked edamame (optional)

Directions: Preheat oven 375F. Spread out meatless mince on baking/cooking tray, add garlic, onions, drizzle a little cooking oil and cook in oven till mince is cooked/"caramelized" in about 20-30mins. Add "pre-fried" mince, tofu, chili into rice-cooker and cook for 10-15mins, then slowly add miso into the cooked mixture, drizzle sesame oil, and let mixture sit/simmer in the rice cooker for few minutes, allow all flavors to combine and meld. (Note: Alternatively, if cooking over the stove, pan-fry mince, garlic, onion in pot/pan for a few minutes to cook through the mince, add tofu, chili paste, gently toss to combine all the ingredients, then add miso in the last 1-2 minutes, with drizzle of sesame oil to finish if off).


*Thank you to the Social Nature community for opportunity to try this product for free. No compensation was received for this review. Review is based on opinion of my own.