We made mapo tofu tonight and ate it over rice. It is The Nom. And it's not overly difficult to make, which is just my speed.
The only ingredient you need that most likely isn't already in your kitchen is Pixian doubanjiang, a deep red broad bean paste. You can get it in most well-stocked Asian markets (or buy it from *m*z*n.c*m if you have to). There's also Sichuan peppercorns, but roughly 2/3 of the time we leave them out and the end result is still good.
If you'd like to try your hand at making it, here's the recipe we printed out and have used so often it's covered with splotches:
https://thechinaproject.com/2020/03/02/the-best-mapo-tofu-recipe/




