Mala Doufu

"Delishas!" as my friend blurted out. Yep I make a mean, mouth-numbing Mabo Tofu. Actually I've read that Mabo Tofu without meat is called Mala Doufu, but nobody cares about that.

I've been lazy these few days and have been eating microwaved pre-made stuff from the grocer. So I finally kicked myself out of this unhealthiness and decided to cook something wondrous, natural, and spicy. And tadaa! Mabo Tofu! Actually I have to confess that I did cheat and that I just bought the sauce, but at least I compromised by doing a no-meat thing and served it only with mushrooms, onions, and various veggies. And of course, tons of hot peppers.

Mabo Tofu is traditionally made with a special spice, Sichuan pepper. It's not really hot like a regular pepper should be, rather it gives a numbing effect. So since I don't have any, I settled to recreating the said effect with peppers, crushed chilis, and a large dollop of jalapeno hot sauce.

It was so hot and spicy it melted my bowl and turned it into a plate. Okay that was a joke, but it was OH-GOSH-ARRGGHH. I loved it. And I also loved how the tofu squares managed to retain their perfect symmetrical shape even after all those boiling around with the other non-symmetrical veggies. They were so soft, bouncy, and totally tasteless, balancing out the powerful sauce.

"Delishas!" and very cheap to make too. I made gallons of the stuff, enough to feed me through the week. Thankfully, spiciness acts as a preservative and a great substitute for numbing peppers.

I now have something to make for Christmas. Something to make my friends appreciate my choco custard more.