Mápó dòufu (hot spicy tofu)

This dish is commonly regarded as one of the signature dishes of the Szechuan province in China. It is pretty easy to prepare. I'm not a fan of this dish, but after watching this prepared in an episode of the comedy anime series Chuka Ichiban (Cooking Master Boy), I got awfully interested in cooking it. Everyone else in my family is proficient at cooking it. 

My mom tells me that it isn't complicated at all... "You fry the pork and green onion. Put in the tofu and fry it. Add the sauce and you're done." 

My dad's recipe, as it was told over the telephone, went like this: "Take one box of tofu and chop it into whatever shape you want. Fry ground pork until crispy with soy sauce. Add some chicken broth. Put a little salt on it. When it starts to bubble, put the ground pork in. Add 1/2 tsp black pepper. Cook with medium-thick cornstarch until it is a little shiny and sticky. If you like it hot, chop up a red pepper. Put spring onion on it. Add a few drops of sesame oil. Add the hot bean sauce last so that it's not too hot." 

My brother's recipe had less of the how and more of the what to put in the dish: sauce is 1/4 c. stock, 1 tbsp hot bean sauce, 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce; green onions, minced ginger, minced garlic, tofu, 1 lb ground pork, and Szechuan peppercorns (btw, these are no longer a banned ingredient in the USA). 

Here's what transpired on the stove tonight... 

Ingredients: 

1 box soft tofu (should be firm, but this is all I had in my pantry) 
1/4 pound ground pork 
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced 
2 cloves garlic, minced 
1 stalk green onion, sliced, for garnish 
1 tsp sesame oil (optional) 
1/4 c. chicken broth 
2 tbsp olive oil, for frying freshly ground black pepper 
Sauce thickener (optional): 1 tsp cornstarch 2 tsp cold water

Sauce (mildly spicy): 
1 tsp hot bean sauce (1 tbsp for very spicy) 
1 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt (up to 1 1/2 tsp salt) 

Directions: 

1. Cube the bean curd into 1/2" pieces and set aside. 

2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan and fry the ground pork until almost no pinkness remains. Set aside. 

3. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan and add the garlic and ginger. When these start to lightly brown, add the tofu and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the pork, chicken broth, and sauce. Simmer for about 3 minutes. 

4. Dissolve the cornstarch with the cold water and pour this into the pan. This will thicken the sauce. 

5. Stir in the sesame oil and sprinkle with green onions. 

6. Remove from heat and serve. Looked like mapo tofu, tastes like mild mapo tofu. Well, it has all the flavor and very little of the hot spicyness. This can be converted into a vegetarian dish by omitting the ground meat and using a vegetable broth instead.