The TODAY Show, round two of the burrito battle, and supper club updates
In case you missed it, we're catching you up on a big week.
Hey y’all!
We had a week. Let me catch you up.
In case you missed it: I was on the TODAY Show
I made Mì Xào Giòn on the 10A hour with Jenna and Sheinelle for AAPI Heritage Month and it was such a good time. If you missed it live, we linked the full segment below.
The TODAY Show segment was great but there’s one thing I want to correct before anyone goes home and tries to make this: the noodles matter a lot.
You need wonton-style thin egg noodles, something like these. Do not boil them. Pull them straight from the freezer and let them thaw just enough to loosen the bundle apart. That’s it.
From there, grab a pot or pan that’s roughly the same diameter as your plate or bowl. Press the noodles in, let them fry low and slow until they hold their shape and go golden and crisp on the bottom. What you’re making is a nest. When you flip it out onto the plate, the stir-fry goes right on top and the noodles underneath stay crunchy. That’s the whole move. Boiling them first kills the texture and you’ll end up with a soggy situation, which is not the goal.
Battle of the Burrito, Round 2
Wednesday, May 20. We’re back at Vals and this time we’re going up against @southernsfood.
If you came to round one, you know what this is. If you didn’t: it’s exactly what it sounds like. Two teams. One burrito each. You eat, you vote, you tell us what you think. Come through and support.
Supper club update
If you submitted your membership fee and sent us your contact info, you are in the system. If you haven’t heard from us, here’s why: May dinners are done, June and July are already sold out, and it’s only May so we’re not ready to announce August dates yet. That’s it. No news isn’t bad news, it just means there’s nothing to announce yet. When August is ready, it will go straight to your inbox. And if a spot opens up from a cancellation, we’ll email you then too.
We’re closing membership sign-ups at the end of this month so that everyone already on the list gets a fair shot at future dates before we open it up again. If someone you know has been meaning to sign up, this is the window.
This week’s recipe
It’s AAPI Heritage Month and I’m sharing Nini’s Mapo Tofu.
Mapo tofu is a Sichuan dish and it is one of my absolute favorite things to cook and eat. The name literally translates to “pockmarked old woman’s tofu,” which I love because the name itself tells you this dish has history.
My version uses soft tofu, ground meat or minced mushrooms if you want to keep it vegetarian, and a sauce built on a few things you’ll want to track down specifically. Pixian douban (look for “Sichuan broad bean sauce” with pixian douban in the ingredient list) is the backbone. Laoganma chili oil with black beans, not just any chili oil, Laoganma specifically. Sichuan pepper powder for that tingly, numbing heat that’s different from regular spice. Those three together are what make it taste like the real thing.
One step that makes a difference: blanch the tofu in salted boiling water for a couple of minutes before it goes in the sauce. It firms it up just enough that the cubes hold their shape when you’re swirling them around the pan instead of falling apart on you.
The whole thing comes together in about 30 minutes. Make more rice than you think you need. You will want it.
Recipe below.
My son really likes when I make Mapo Tofu, something I never thought I'd say since he was only chicken and French fries about a year ago. The first time I made it I didn't want to deal with ground meat so I fine diced some trumpet mushrooms and I only got one serving cause he ate the rest that weekend. I enjoy seeing the slight differences in all the recipes for this that I find. The bean sauce and chili oil is a new one to me from your recipe. I'll have to see if I can find those at the Hong Kong market (it always takes me 20 minutes to find dark soy there, or really any sauce).