MaPo Tofu

My kids are not big tofu fans.  I grew up eating rice, noodles, seaweed, and of course tofu so I love the stuff.  The only tofu dish I have been able to get my kids to eat is called MaPo Tofu.  They generally don't like the kind that you might order at a Chinese restaurant.  This is the way I have to make it for them to eat it.  Personally, I really like this version of MaPo Tofu too.   It's really a very simple dish. This recipe is basically the one on the bottle of the chili bean paste so it's not my personal recipe.  I would post the actual recipe on the bottle, but my chili bean paste I bought here in Jakarta has the recipe written in Indonesian. The recipe is how I remembered making it when we lived in the U.S.

Ingredients:

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 stalks of green onion, diced
3 Tbs oil
1/2 lb. of ground pork or ground beef (we prefer pork although pork is difficult to come by in Indonesia since many grocery stores do not carry it)
2 Tbs. Chili Bean Sauce (available at most grocery stores that have some kind of Asian food isle...in Texas I usually got it at H.E.B.)
2 Tbs. water
1 package of tofu cut into small cubes (my kids like extra firm...you can use soft, firm, or extra firm)

Saute garlic and green onion in oil to flavor the oil.  Add ground beef and stir fry until pork is cooked.  Add cubed tofu.  Add chili bean sauce and water.  Make sure tofu and pork are mixed and evenly coated with sauce.  Simmer for a few minutes.  Serve over rice.  I made it for dinner tonight, but I forgot to take a picture.  I'll try and add a picture the next time I make it.  Oh, in case the chili bean sauce didn't give it away, I forgot to add that the dish is mildly spicy.  Enjoy!