More WACOM tablet foolings-around…

I once bought my little sister a WACOM tablet for her birthday. Unlike me, she knew very well that she wanted to go into graphic design (she’s studying computational media at Georgia Tech), so I figured this would make a great present. Now that she has her school’s fabulous facilities, I was allowed to snag this baby back for myself.

Above is a quick doodle I whipped up to learn a little more of its capabilities. I drew it in Photoshop, from a photograph. I do realize the details toward the bottom of the painting could be much better, but by the time I got down there I just couldn’t care anymore. But a WACOM tablet is indeed a toy every art-inclined person should have (now only if they weren’t so darn expensive).

My friends know that I absolutely abhor the way Americans have transformed tofu. I’m not a big beans person, but I love tofu; I grew up eating it and don’t need snobby health-conscious bourgeois excuses to eat it now. Most people I have talked to are dissuaded by its texture, which I have a hard time understanding since they are all okay with jello.

Then there are those who try to eat it instead of meat. This flabbergasts me beyond all reason. Yes, it is rich enough in protein to replace meat. Koreans even call tofu “beef from the fields.” But that does not mean we are supposed to shape it into burgers and dip it in cow sauce to make it taste like beef. Tofu has a wonderful texture of its own, breaking apart in your mouth with subtle umami and enhancing the taste of whatever you eat it with. So please, do not grind it up into a burger patty. It’s blasphemy.

With that said, I personally think Mapo Tofu is one of the best dishes the Orient has to offer. Like all Szechuan dishes, it boasts a powerful kick and enough heat to help you survive the brutal summers of Southern China. Served with rice, it will render you utterly helpless and unable to stop shoveling it into your mouth. But when I first started making this dish in college, I found it extremely difficult to find a consistent recipe for it. I looked online only to find the most amateur instructions by a few Chinese-food enthusiasts. I came across this one within my mother’s cookbooks, and it has yet to fail me. So without further ado, the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 Loaf Soft Tofu
• 150g Ground Pork
• 1 1/2 cup Water
• 1 tsp chicken/pork bullion
• 3 Tbsp Chili Bean Paste
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Garlic, chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp crushed hot pepper flakes
• 1/2 Tbsp Ginger, pureed
• 3 Tbsp Sake or Mirin
• 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Japanese Miso
• 1 Tbsp Korean pepper flakes
• 2 Tbsp Cornstarch
• 3 Tbsp water
• Scallions or Fresh Garlic
• Salt, Pepper and Sesame Oil to taste

1. Coat the bottom of a thick pan or wok with vegetable oil (do not EVER use sesame oil to cook). Bring to medium-high heat.
2. Stir chicken/pork bullion into 1 1/2 cups water; bring to boil.
3. In the meantime, render chili oil by stir-frying the chopped garlic, chili bean paste and crushed hot pepper flakes. It will splatter a lot. The spicy fumes might even make you cough. Use a lid or something. Or (Russell Peters Mode) BE A MAN. Deal with it.
4. Add ground pork to 3, stir one to two minutes.
5. Add black pepper, ginger, sake and sugar. Stir until the pork is browned.
6. Add Miso and Korean pepper flakes. Mix well.
7. Pour boiling stock from 2 into the mixture. This takes the swiney out of the swine. Boil the mixture on medium heat.
8. Cut tofu into cubes – or rectangular prisms – of desired size and add into the broth.
9. Cover and simmer on medium-low heat.
10. Mix 2 Tbsp cornstarch and 3 Tbsp water together. Stir this mixture in to thicken the sauce. Some call this the ancient Chinese secret. But the real secret is MSG.
11. Stir in a little bit of sesame oil at the end. This is the correct usage.
12. Garnish with chopped scallions or freshly chopped garlic, although I would recommend the former unless you have no other plans for the rest of the day.
13. SERVE WITH RICE!