Mapo

But the main event of the meal was of course … mapo tofu. ❋ Unknown (2010)

SG serves their take-out mapo-tofu in the same type of container though so it looks like soup. ❋ Unknown (2010)

Nope, the mapo tofu (MPT) here uses the soft, silken variety. ❋ Unknown (2010)

So what exactly do we look for in a good mapo tofu? ❋ Unknown (2010)

According to Chinese-American Zuo Ziying, who was born in Chengdu and who conducts tours in southwest China for Lotus Culinary Travel, jiachang or home-style versions of mapo dofu are usually less oily and more simple than those cooked in restaurant kitchens. ❋ Robyn Eckhardt (2010)

The mapo dofu at Wu Liang Ye … 36 W. 48th. .also their dan dan noodles … ❋ Unknown (2008)

Foreigners are often put off by mapo dofu's characteristic slick of oil, but Ms. Dunlop says, "It was an oil carrier's dish, so it should be oily." ❋ Robyn Eckhardt (2010)

Chilies both warm the body and induce a cooling sweat, so mapo dofu is a dish made-to-order for Chengdu's perennially humid climate, with its bone-chilling winters and oppressively muggy summers. ❋ Robyn Eckhardt (2010)

David Hagerman for The Wall Street Journal No local specialty is more treasured than mapo dofu, a sumptuous mélange of silky firm bean curd, chopped meat and suanmiao (a local leek) cooked in liberal amounts of oil with black beans, chili-beanpaste, soy sauce and dried chilies. ❋ Robyn Eckhardt (2010)

For British food writer Fuchsia Dunlop, author of "Sichuan Cookery" (published in the U.S. under the title "Land of Plenty"), mapo dofu's "bold, striking flavors and comforting, sort of lazy texture" are a culinary embodiment of Chengdu's split personality: "A vibrant city whose inhabitants are known for taking a laid-back approach to life," says Ms. Dunlop. ❋ Robyn Eckhardt (2010)

Overseas Chinese restaurant versions of mapo dofu rarely pack the ma-la punch of the real thing, probably because most restaurant owners hail from chili-phobic southern China, but also because the processing that huajiao must undergo for export robs it of fragrance and flavor. ❋ Robyn Eckhardt (2010)

This was extremely critical during switching procedures because of the intricacies of the procedure that caused the Pilots to have to “override” the emergency stop mapo systems. ❋ Unknown (2009)

That silky soft tofu in what appears to be mapo tofu but is actually some strange concoction of the mad scientist back in the “kitchen” will constipate you harder than sandpaper-wrapped bricks through a drinking straw, and yet, alternating with fire-rrhea from prescription dosages of hot sauce you were forced to use to numb the pain of blandness. ❋ Unknown (2006)

Among the frozen stash were several packs of ground beef (good for a quick burger or mapo tofu), some frozen strawberries (margatira time!) ❋ Barbara (2006)