mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐) | powerfully spicy sichuan dish consisting of silken tofu, chili paste, fermented black beans, soy sauce, meat (ground pork or beef), garlic, ginger, and scallions. ▵
mapo meaning ‘pockmarked old woman’, and named after the woman, who was marked with a condition, that invented the dish. legend says that her home was located in the outskirts of the city, and while rich businessmen were able to afford inns inside the city, the poorer workers, travelers, and traders stayed at the cheaper inns in the outskirts nearby. they often brought tofu and beef to the woman to cook, and thus the dish was named after her.
