Simple Ma Po Tofu guide

This recipe was from Egullet. I am saving it as a guide.

MA PO TOFU   its very simple to make. 

I don't really measure since my mother taught me how to make it so i've approximated everything. chinese people usually do everything by taste =)

make sure the wok is hot, add some oil, add several slices of ginger (keep them fairly large so you can remove them easily) and brown about 1/4 lb of ground pork marinated in a little soy sauce, really chinese people don't marinate, they just stir in soy sauce and wait like 5-10 minutes while they prep the rest of their work

(usually i buy the leanest ground pork and the fattest ground pork at the market then mix them together, my grandmother taught me this) 

add a teasoon of black beans. 

add chili bean paste, i usually add 3+ soup spoon fulls because i love it spicy.

add 2 tablepsoons of chinese rice wine (mijiu)

add one package of cubed silken tofu (silken is the softest tofu)

i usually taste and add more chili bean paste.

pull out ginger and of course enjoy over rice. this will probably feed 4 people if accompanied with something else as well.

Make sure you use good chili bean paste. Don't buy lee kum kee or whatever that brand is for this stuff. There are several different brands, you can try the different brands, but my mom says to stay clear of that brand for most sauces and pastes. We only use that one for Oyster Sauce. It was the one I wanted to grab because it had the most English on it, but my mom says to stay clear of it. The one I buy is from Hong Kong, there's no English brand on it, but it says Chili Bean Paste in English on it =)