Szechuan Mapo Tofu with Sugar Snap Peas

Ingredients

• ¾ Cup Parboiled Brown Rice
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 2 Green Onions
• 1 Red Fresno Chile
• 14 oz Firm Tofu
• 1 tsp. Vegetable Base
• 2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce–Gluten-Free
• 1 tsp. Sugar
• 1 ½ Tbsp. Cornstarch
• 1 ½ tsp. Home Chef Szechuan
• Spice Blend
• 5 oz Stringless Sugar Snap Peas
• Olive Oil
• Salt Pepper
• an angle, keeping white and green portions separate.
• white membrane if you prefer less spice. Drain tofu and

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook Within: For best browning results, blot diced tofu with a paper towel Tofu’s origins in China stretch back over 2,000 years where Buddhist monks enjoyed it as part of their vegetarian diet. Szechuan pepper’s mouth-numbing effect is used judiciously in Chinese cuisine, and can actually make other spicy foods more palatable. Our Szechuan spice blend is made with 2 parts Szechuan seasoned salt and 1 part ground ginger.

2. 2

   Cook the Rice: Bring a small pot with 1 ½ cups water and rice to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until ten- der and water has been absorbed, 17-20 minutes.

3. 3

   Heat a medium non-stick pan over medium-high: heat. Add 1 Tbsp. olive oil and tofu to hot pan and cook, stirring occasionally, 4-5 minutes, or until tofu is slightly browned. Add remaining garlic, Szechuan spice blend (add a small amount at first, taste, and add more if desired), white portion of green onions, and sugar snap peas and cook 1-2 minutes, or until sugar snaps are bright green.

4. 4

   Prepare the Ingredients: Mince garlic. Trim and thinly slice green onions on an angle, keeping white and green portions separate. Slice Fresno chile into thin rounds. Discard seeds and white membrane if you prefer less spice. Drain tofu and cut into 1” dice. Lay diced tofu on paper towels and

5. 5

   Whisk mapo sauce to reincorporate any cornstarch: and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 3-4 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Taste, and add additional salt and pepper if desired.

6. 6

   Make the Mapo Sauce: Combine vegetable base, soy sauce, sugar, half the

7. 7

   Plate the Dish: Place rice in a shallow bowl and pour mapo tofu around rice. Garnish with remaining green onions and Fresno chiles (to taste–they’re spicy!). Look out for that Szechuan peppercorn “mouth buzz”–it’s the best part of mapo tofu! recipe–it has bigger grains and is easier to pinch than table salt, allowing more control over twice. Half goes in mapo sauce and half is cooked with tofu. white and green portions of green onion separate after slicing. White portions are cooked with tofu, and remaining garnishes final dish. • Fresno chile adds a nice kick to the mapo, but may be too spicy for some. Feel free to add half, taste, and add more as desired. Make sure to wash your hands and cutting board • Szechuan spice blend contains Szechuan salt, which can give the mouth an interesting numbing sensation. Don’t panic–the salt is working as it should! Feel free to omit if the recipe before you start–we promise it will be time

8. 8

   Mince garlic. Trim and thinly slice green onions on

9. 9

   Slice Fresno chile into thin rounds. Discard seeds and

10. 10

    cut into 1” dice. Lay diced tofu on paper towels and