Minced Pork with Soft Tofu (Easy 15 Mins One Pot Meal)

An original ground pork recipe born from a twist of the classic

Ever wanted to try the Mapo Tofu recipe but couldn’t take the heat of this spicy dish since you have a kiddo at home that thinks black pepper is too spicy?? This is the case with our 10-year-old son. I have created the Minced Pork with Soft Tofu Recipe (or tofu with ground pork) because of that. This is definitely kid-approved, even for younger toddlers, for its taste and soft texture. If you’re looking to wake up your taste buds, especially if you love tofu, this is the dish for you!

Inspiration from Mapo Tofu flavors comes through in this soul-warming stir-fry that’s surprisingly easy to make. So if you want a delicious yet fuss-free meal in no time flat, stay tuned and keep reading – because I’m about to give you the scoop on how this Asian recipe can be made right at home!

Advantages of this dish

• One-pot meal
• Minimal ingredients needed (most you probably already have on hand)
• Kid-approved (even younger toddlers)
• Easy to make
• Only takes 15 minutes to put together (perfect for weeknight dinner)
• Packed with protein
• Perfect as leftovers since it’s easy to reheat and no worries about drying it out since it is saucy
• Add any vegetable to the dish and serve it on steamed rice or noodles

Instruction

1. Preparing the meat

This dish is very versatile as you can use any meat you have on hand. Minced or sliced meat of any kind will work. Marinating the meat is optional, you could put ground meat from the package right into the large skillet. However, it will add a depth of flavor if you put in some simple marinate and let it sit for a little bit.

I recommend using minced pork because:

• Easily accessible
• Short cooking time due to the small sizes
• Minced pork does not get overcooked as easily as minced beef

See this blog post on secret tips to tenderize meat.

2. Preparing the tofu

This step couldn’t be easier. All you need is to open the packaging and drain the excess water if it comes with any. You are ready to go!

Type of tofu

• Soon Soft Tofu Tube – This is my top choice!! I love soft silky tofu for this dish. It is hassle-free since you only need to cut open the package and squeeze it right into the pan. It doesn’t come with excess water so no draining is needed. It is a very popular Korean brand and you could find it in the refrigerated section of most Korean grocery stores.
• Silken Tofu – Silken soft tofu also comes in the form of a box.
• Soft Tofu – A little firmer than silken but still a great choice.
• Firm Tofu – If you like the presentation of cubed tofu, this could be a good choice since it’s easy to preserve the shape.

3. Preparing Sauces

• Many of the sauces will be available in Asian grocery stores.
• Since we use a good amount of soy sauce, depending on how salty you like your food, you might not need to add much salt, or at all.
• Soy sauce could be replaced with coco amino.
• The oyster sauce gives the dish extra umami flavor and gives extra flavor to the dish.

4. Cooking Instruction

1. Marinate your meat 15 mins in advance. (Marinate is optional but highly recommended)
2. Heat up the wok and add 2 tbsp of cooking oil.
3. If using aromatics, like ginger and garlic, lower the heat and fry for approximately 30 secs or until fragrant.
4. Turn back to high heat and add pork to the wok.
5. Break up the pork with your spatula to the desired size. I personally like them a bit on the chunky side so about the size of 1/4 meatballs. You could break it all the way down to the smallest side. The smaller it is, the faster it is to thoroughly cook it.
6. Cook pork until there’s no more pink color.
7. Add tofu. (This will lower the temperature of your pan so give it some time and let the temperature comes back up)
8. Break up the tofu to the desired size. I recommend leaving it on the chunkier side since it will further break down later when stirring)
9. Pour in stir fry sauce. Stir and incorporate everything together.
10. Cover and cook for 3 to 5 mins, or until everything is heated up and the pork is fully cooked.
11. Turn the heat to low, move all the food to the side of the wok, and make a well in the middle.
12. Slowly drizzle cornstarch slurry in the middle and stir at the same time.
13. Once the slurry starts bubbling, mix everything to combine.
14. After the heat is off, drizzle a few drops of sesame oil as finishing oil
15. If using garnishes, sprinkle cut green onion or scallions on top.

5. Happy cooking and happy eating!

Serve immediately with a bed of steamed white rice is best. I usually yield 6 servings. I keep some in my fridge every time so it could be a meal for another night, or I would reheat a portion for my son since he often wants a second dinner just 2 hours after his first. I hope you will try this lovely recipe.

Minced Pork with Soft Tofu

5 from 1 vote

Tofu with minced pork

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Prep Time:10 minutes mins

Cook Time:15 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, entree, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: 15 mins recipe, 15 minutes recipe, easy recipe, mapo tofu, Minced Pork with Soft Tofu, one pot meals, one-pot meal, weeknight dinner

Servings: 6

Author: HomeCooksAssemble

Cost: 12

Equipment

• Wok or deep saute pan
• Wok Spatula or silicone or wooden spoon

Ingredients

Main Ingredients

• 1 lb Ground pork
• 4 tubes Soon tofu (see notes on tofu choices)
• 2 clove Garlic (optional)
• 2 slice Ginger (optional)
• 1 stalk Green onion (scallion) (optional)
• Few drops Sesame oil

Meat Marinate (optional)

• 1 tbsp Soy sauce
• 1 tsp Dark soy sauce (optional for coloring)
• 1 tbsp Oyster sauce
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine (or other cooking wine)
• 1 tbsp Corn starch or potato starch
• 1/2 tsp Sugar
• few drops Water

Stir Fry Sauce

• 3 tbsp Soy sauce
• 3 tbsp Ketchup
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1 tbsp Oyster sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar

Cornstarch Slurry

• 2 tbsp Corn starch or potato starch
• 2 tbsp Water (cold or room temperature)

Instructions

Marinate Meat (optional but highly recommended)

• Put in all meat marinate ingredients except for corn starch
• Stir to combine
• Add corn starch
• Stir to combine again
• Set aside for 15 mins

Prepare Other Ingredients

• Mix all ingredients of stir fry sauce
• Mix all ingredients of corn starch slurry
• Open tofu packaging, drain water if applicable
• Prepare aromatics and garnish (garlic, ginger, green onion)

Cooking

• Marinate minced pork (best to let it sit for at least 15 mins before cooking, so prepare all other ingredients while you wait)
• Heat up wok until you see a little bit of smoke (if not using wok, heat up your big pan to temperature that can sear meat), then add in 2 tbsp of cooking oil
• Lower the heat to medium low, cook ginger and garlic, cook until fragrant (approx. 30 secs)
• Turn the heat back to high, add meat into the wok, break down to desirable size, then cook until brown
• Add in soft tofu, break down to desirable size (could leave it in bigger chunks since it'll bring down further as you stir)
• Mix in stir fry sauce, lower the heat to medium low
• Cover and cook until tofu is heated up (approx. 3 to 5 mins)
• Move pork and tofu to the side of the pan and make a well in the middle
• Give the slurry a last minute stir, slowly drizzle in corn starch slurry and stir at the same time
• Mix the thickened sauce with the rest of the food