Mapo tofu has been a staple in our family dinners for a long time. Both my husband and I love it. In the past year, I had to renounce this savory dish because I discovered I’m intolerant to soy. Now, our local Costco has finally decided to sell tofu and my husband’s eyes went all dewy at the memory of the mapo tofu I used to make. I couldn’t refuse him.

What I had in the pantry:

1Pound Firm Organic Tofu

Half pound Jimmy Dean

Mapo tofu spices*

Hot pepper flakes

French Green Beans (just because we must eat something green)

How I made the mapo tofu:

I cooked the ground pork in a non-stick pan and then added the tofu cut in small cubes, the mapo tofu spices, and the pepper flakes. Let it sauté for fifteen minutes at very low heat. Meanwhile, I cooked the French green beans in a steamer, once soft (we don’t like it raw), I served them with a sprinkle of reduced sodium soy sauce to accompany the mapo tofu. Dinner was served in record time after our daily dog walk. Still as good as I remembered. I’ll know tomorrow if it was a good idea to eat it.

* Mapo tofu spices can be found in every Asian supermarket. In case you don’t have any nearby, try adding one or two tablespoon of cornstarch, pepper, and soy sauce to the tofu. Not the same thing, but at least the color looks right.