Mapo Tofu

My mother’s father told her the folktale associated with this ubiquitous Sichuan dish, whose name means “pockmarked grandmother’s bean curd.” According to the story, an old Sichuan woman with a pockmarked face opened a restaurant without a name. People would travel great distances for her delicious tofu dish, but because her restaurant was nameless, they named the dish after her features. Whatever you call it, this dish is filled with juicy ground pork stir-fried with tofu in a spicy and sa