The Best Vegan Mapo Tofu Recipe

Ingredients (20)

• 4 whole dried woodear mushrooms (about 1/6 ounce)
• 1/4 ounce dried morel or porcini mushrooms, or a mix
• 1 (2-inch) piece of kombu (optional, see note)
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 6 ounces white button mushrooms, stems trimmed, quartered
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (see note)
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons whole Sichuan peppercorns, divided (see note)
• 2 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorns, one tablespoon left whole, the other toasted and ground in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle
• 2 whole dried chinese hot chilies
• 3 garlic cloves grated on a microplane grater
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated on a microplane grater
• 4 scallions, whites finely chopped, greens thinly sliced, reserved separately
• 12 chinese chives or regular chives cut into 1/2-inch segments
• 3 tablespoons minced yacai (Chinese preserved mustard root, see note, optional)
• 2 tablespoons fermented chili broad bean paste (see note)
• 2 tablespoons roasted chili oil (see note)
• 1 1/2 pounds medium to firm silken tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes