麻婆豆腐 (mápódòufu) · mapo tofu

Meanings

1 mapo tofu

Made with

豆腐 dòufu 牛肉 niúròu 豆瓣酱 dòubànjiàng 豆豉 dòuchǐ 花椒 huājiāo

About the dish

川菜 Sichuan · 热菜 Hot dish

Soft tofu cubes in a red, oily sauce of chili bean paste and fermented black beans with a little minced beef or pork, finished with ground Sichuan pepper that numbs the lips.

Usually contains soy

Characters

Examples

HSK 5

我最爱吃麻婆豆腐配米饭。

Wǒ zuì ài chī mápódòufu pèi mǐfàn.

I love eating mapo tofu with rice.

HSK 7-9

正宗的麻婆豆腐又麻又辣。

Zhèngzōng de mápódòufu yòu má yòu là.

Authentic mapo tofu is both numbing and spicy.

Tips

culture

The dish was invented in 1862 by Chen Liu Shi (陈刘氏), wife of restaurateur Chen Chunfu, at her shop 陈兴盛饭铺 in north Chengdu. Her face was pockmarked (麻 "pockmarked" + 婆 "old woman"), so customers nicknamed the dish "Pockmarked Granny's Tofu". The original is now sold by the Chen Mapo Tofu chain (陈麻婆豆腐).