Mapo Doufou

There is no suitable name in English for this superb Sichuan dish. The Chinese translates literally as “pockmarked old woman’s bean curd.” In Hong Kong, however, where it is known in Cantonese as mah pao dau fu, “grandmother” is used as an honorific in place of “old woman.” In both cases, the dish is a direct, intense mix of bean curd, pork (or sometimes beef), and hot chiles, with its own particular story. Many years ago, an elderly woman whose face showed the effects of smallpox op