Mapo Tofu

Drain the Silken tofu and cut it into 2 cm cubes. Keep them in one layer and move them as little as possible — silken tofu tears if you fuss. Bring a wide pan of water to a bare simmer, add 1 tsp Salt and slide in the tofu. Hold it just below a boil for 2 min, then lift the cubes out with a slotted spoon. This sets the surface so the cubes survive the braise.

⚠ Tip: If your tofu block is very wet, rest it on a clean tea towel for 10 min to firm up slightly.

⚠ Tip: Do not boil hard and do not stir with a spoon — swirl the pan instead.

Chop the Doubanjiang to a smooth paste so it fries evenly, and chop the rinsed Fermented black beans. Mince the Garlic and Ginger and pile everything by the stove. Stir the Potato starch into 50 ml cold water until it's a smooth, loose slurry. It will thicken the sauce in two additions, so keep it moving before each pour. Put the Sichuan peppercorns in a dry pan over medium heat. Toast for 1 min until they smell of citrus and crackle, then grind to a fine powder. This goes over the finished dish, not into the pan.

⚠ Tip: Never put raw ground peppercorn into the braise — it turns soapy. It hits the tongue last, at the table.

Heat the wok over high heat, add 2 tbsp Neutral oil, then the Minced beef. Press it flat and leave it for 30 sec before breaking it up. Fry for 3 min until the mince is crisp at the edges and no longer steaming, then push it up the side of the wok.

⚠ Tip: Wet mince steams instead of browning. Let the pan get properly hot and give it space.

Turn the heat to medium heat. Add the Doubanjiang, Fermented black beans, Garlic and Ginger into the oil at the bottom of the wok, not over the beef. Fry for 1 min 30 sec until the paste darkens and a deep red oil separates out and stains the pan. Stir in the Sichuan chilli flakes and fry for 20 sec — just long enough to bloom the colour. Any longer and they scorch and turn bitter.

⚠ Tip: This is the whole dish: if the paste hasn't split its oil, the mapo will taste flat and raw. Take the full time.

Splash in the Shaoxing wine and let it hiss. Add 250 ml Chicken stock and the Light soy sauce, bring to a simmer, then slide in the blanched tofu. Push the cubes down with the back of a spoon and simmer for 4 min, swirling the pan rather than stirring.

⚠ Tip: Use a wok spatula to nudge from underneath, never a spoon through the middle.

Give the slurry a stir and pour in half of it, swirling the pan. Simmer for 30 sec until the sauce turns glossy, then pour in the rest and simmer for 30 sec more until it coats the tofu without being gluey.

⚠ Tip: Two additions give you a sauce that clings rather than a gravy that pools. Stop as soon as it looks like a glaze.

Off the heat, scatter the Spring onions and drizzle over the Toasted sesame oil if using. Spoon into a warm bowl and shower the ground peppercorns over the top right before it hits the table — that's where the numbing comes from. Serve with plain rice.

⚠ Tip: Grind the peppercorn at the very last second. Pre-ground powder smells of nothing and the tingle fades.