Hello everybody, it’s Louise, welcome to my recipe page. Today, we’re going to prepare a special dish, mapo tofu. One of my favorites. This time, I’m gonna make it a bit unique. This will be really delicious.
Mapo Tofu is one of the most well liked of current trending meals on earth. It is enjoyed by millions every day. It’s simple, it’s fast, it tastes delicious. They are fine and they look wonderful. Mapo Tofu is something which I’ve loved my whole life.
To get started with this recipe, we have to first prepare a few components. You can have mapo tofu using 14 ingredients and 9 steps. Here is how you cook that.
The ingredients needed to make Mapo Tofu:
- Prepare 500 g soft to medium-firm tofu
- Take 12 dried black mushrooms
- Take 80 g fermented black beans
- Get 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- Take 8 cm ginger, chopped
- Get 4 dried Sichuan type peppers, chopped
- Get 4 scallions, sliced diagonally
- Prepare 4 g Sichuan pepper, lightly crushed
- Take 80 g chili bean paste
- Take 20 g Chinese cooking wine
- Get 20 g light soy sauce
- Make ready 20 g sesame oil
- Make ready 20 g sugar
- Make ready 8 g corn starch
Steps to make Mapo Tofu:
- Soak the black mushrooms in 0.4 l water for 20 minutes, wring out the excess water back in the bowl and chop the mushrooms. Reserve the mushroom flavoured water for the sauce.
- Chop the ginger and garlic, and crush the black beans slightly.
- Stir fry the mushrooms and black beans on high heat in some peanut oil until slightly crispy and fragrant.
- Lower the heat, add the chopped ginger, garlic, Sichuan pepper, scallion whites and chili, and stir fry until fragrant and the garlic starts to brown.
- Mix the mushroom water with the chili bean paste, wine, soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar and add the sauce to the wok and let simmer for a few minutes.
- Cut the tofu in inch sized cubes and add them to the sauce, stirring carefully to avoid breaking them. Let simmer on low heat until the tofu is heated through.
- Mix the corn starch with some cold water and add to the wok, and continue to simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Adjust hotness with chili oil, "mala" (the numbing quality of the Sichuan pepper) with more Sichuan pepper, saltiness with salt and sweetness with sugar. Garnish with the scallion greens.
- Serves 3-4 on its own or 6-8 as a part of a spread.
Information on How to Improve Your Mood with Food
Most of us believe that comfort foods are bad for us and that we must stay away from them. However, if your comfort food is candy or junk food this holds true. Soemtimes, comfort foods can be perfectly nourishing and good for us to consume. There are some foods that, when you consume them, may improve your mood. If you are feeling a little bit down and need a happiness pick me up, try some of these.
Eggs, would you believe, are wonderful for helping you fight depression. Just make sure that you do not throw away the egg yolk. The yolk is the part of the egg that is the most important in terms of helping raise your mood. Eggs, especially the yolks, are rich in B vitamins. These B vitamins are wonderful for helping to raise your mood. This is because the B vitamins increase the function of your brain’s neural transmitters (the parts of the brain that dictate how you feel). Consume an egg and jolly up!
Make some trail mix of nuts or seeds. Almonds, cashews, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etcetera are all great for improving your mood. This is because seeds and nuts have plenty of magnesium which increases your brain’s serotonin levels. Serotonin is called the “feel good” chemical and it tells your brain how you should be feeling all the time. The more you have of it, the happier you will feel. Nuts, in addition to improving your mood, can be a super protein source.
Cold water fish are excellent if you want to be in a better mood. Salmon, herring, tuna, mackerel, trout, etc, they’re all loaded with omega-3 fatty acids and DHA. Omega-3 fatty acids and DHA are two things that improve the quality and the function of your brain’s grey matter. It’s true: eating a tuna fish sandwich can greatly elevate your mood.
It’s easy to overcome your bad mood when you consume grains. Barley, millet, quinoa, etc are great at helping you feel happier. These grains can help you feel full for longer also, which can help your mood too. Feeling hungry can be a real downer! These grains can improve your mood as it’s easy for your body to digest them. They are easier to digest than other foods which helps bring up your blood sugar levels and that, in turn, improves your mood.
Green tea is wonderful for moods. You were sure green tea had to be mentioned, right? Green tea has been found to be rich in an amino acid referred to as L-theanine. Research has found that this amino acid induces the production of brain waves. This helps focus your mental energy while at the same time calming your body. You already knew that green tea helps you be a lot healthier. Now you know that green tea can elevate your mood as well!
See, you don’t need to stuff your face with junk food when you wish to feel better! Try some of these instead!
