Pock-Marked Old Woman’s Tofu (Vegetarian Version)

Mapo doufu is one of the best-loved dishes of the Sichuanese capital, Chengdu. It is named after the wife of a Qing Dynasty restaurateur who delighted passing labourers with her hearty braised tofu, cooked up at her restaurant by the Bridge of 10,000 Blessings in the north of the city. The dish is thought to date back to the late nineteenth century. Mrs Chen’s face was marked with smallpox scars, so she was given the affectionate nickname ma po, ‘Pock-marked O