Kid-Friendly Mild Mapo Tofu Made the Professional Way

Chop the Japanese long onion fairly coarsely. Chopping it too finely will make the onion lose its presence, so aim for pieces about the size of confetti.

Mince the ginger and garlic as finely as possible. Mincing them finely makes the overall aroma come through more easily.

Chop the pork belly into a coarse mince of about 1cm cubes. Using flavorful pork belly instead of ground pork gives the dish chunky, meaty bites.

Put the chopped pork belly in a bowl and season it with 1 teaspoon sake and 1 teaspoon soy sauce (called "qiang" in Chinese cooking). This helps it blend with the seasonings, tenderizes the meat, and draws out its umami.

Combine the broth for the sauce in advance. Add the chicken stock powder, 2 teaspoons sake, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, sugar, and oyster sauce to the water and mix.

Heat the wok, then turn off the heat once and pour in oil, swirling it to coat the whole wok (seasoning the wok). This is preparation for an iron wok and is unnecessary with a nonstick pan.

Add the doubanjiang and fry it thoroughly over low heat until fragrant. This is the most important point, as it forms the foundation of the flavor.

Once the doubanjiang is fragrant, add the minced aromatics other than the onion (ginger and garlic) and draw out their aroma slowly over low heat. Fry until the fragrance fills the room.

Add the marinated coarsely minced pork belly, raise the heat slightly, and cook while stirring. It is done once clear oil renders out of the meat.

Add the combined broth, turn the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Cut the tofu into roughly 1.5cm cubes as you add it to the wok, and simmer over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. When stirring, always "push" with the back of the ladle.

Once the broth and the tofu are at about the same level, check the strength of the seasoning. Slightly on the strong side goes well with rice. Add the chopped onion and thicken with the starch slurry. Aim for a consistency where pushing with the ladle leaves a trail.

Finally, drizzle in the sesame oil, turn the heat all the way up, and sear over high heat (shao). It is done when the sauce clings to the sides of the wok and the oil rises to give it a gloss. Serve on a plate and scatter thin green onions over the top if you like.