King Oyster Mushroom Mapo Tofu

My family loves mapo tofu, and I prepare it at least once a month. It is a classic Sichuan recipe that anyone who loves spicy food will fall in love with just one bite.

Although the traditional recipe uses ground pork to cook mapo tofu, I often substitute it with mushrooms, especially using king oyster mushrooms or a mix of king oyster and shiitake mushrooms.

Using mushrooms instead of ground pork doesn’t make the dish vegetarian. You will need to also replace the oyster sauce with mushroom sauce. You can also make the dish gluten-free using a gluten-free version of the mushroom sauce and soy sauce.

Ingredients for King Oyster Mushroom Mapo Tofu

• king oyster mushroom
• soft/silk tofu
• garlic
• ginger
• red chili
• bean paste
• oyster sauce or mushroom sauce for vegetarian version
• soy sauce
• salt, pepper, and sugar
• tapioca starch
• scallions

How to Cook King Oyster Mushroom Mapo Tofu

1. Prep mushroom and tofu

Cut the mushrooms into small 1/2-inch pieces. Drain water from the tofu and cut it into 1-inch pieces.

2. Fry aromatics

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Sauté garlic, ginger, and chili until fragrant.

3. Cook tofu

Add bean paste, oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt, pepper, sugar, and water. Mix well, add tofu, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Thicken sauce

Mix tapioca starch with two tablespoons of water to make a slurry. Gently pour the slurry into the pan and stir until the sauce is thick. Add scallions and stir gently for 30 seconds.

5. Serve

Transfer mapo tofu to a serving plate and serve it immediately with steamed white rice.

Extra Ingredients for the Mapo Tofu

You will get a delicious mapo tofu from this recipe, but if you are willing to invest extra time and ingredients, you can cook an even better dish by adding the following items.

1. Shiitake mushroom

On top of the king oyster mushroom, you can add shiitake mushrooms to increase the umami level of the mapo tofu dish.

Both fresh and dried shiitake mushrooms will work, though I highly recommend using dried ones if possible.

For this dish, rehydrate 50 grams of dried shiitake mushroom with 1 cup of water to soften the mushrooms.

Save the 1 cup of soaking liquid and use it to replace the 1 cup of water in the recipe. Discard the stems and cut the mushroom caps into small 1/2-inch pieces. Cook shiitake mushrooms along with the king oyster mushrooms in step 3.

2. Sichuan doubanjiang

There are several versions of bean paste in the market. You can generally find Cantonese brands like Lee Kum Kee and Sichuan brands labeled as pixian doubanjiang.

Although both will work, Sichuan doubanjiang will give you the more authentic mapo tofu since it generally contains more chili and fava beans.

3. Sichuan pepper (花椒)

Many Sichuan dish has Sichuan pepper, and you can add the pepper to your mapo tofu. Add a teaspoon of Sichuan peppers when frying the garlic, ginger, and red chilies at step 2.

4. Chili oil

Chili oil gives mapo tofu a red hue, and it contains other aromatics too that will elevate the dish on top of making it hotter. Add one or two teaspoons of Chinese chili oil at step 4 when adding the scallions.