A couple of years ago, while in Japan for the first time, I took a day trip from Tokyo to Yokohama, which was only about half an hour away by train. I spent a few hours at the Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum, which is pretty much a mini indoor theme park devoted to Japan’s obsession with ramen. The basement had a collection of ramen houses highlighting specialties from regions around the country, and it was extremely hard limiting myself to just one shop and one bowl of ramen for lunch.
But the main reason I decided to devote a whole day to Yokohama on my short visit, other than the museum, was because of the largest Chinatown in Japan. A Chinatown which, incidentally, also felt like a theme park. It was, for starters, the cleanest Chinatown I had ever seen. The immaculate streets were lined with restaurants showcasing the best of Chinese plastic foods in outdoor display cases. On almost every corner, there were three- or four-story shops with pagoda-like awnings selling Chinese knick-knacks, and at least a couple of stores selling clothes and home decorations from craftspeople in Mexico, Peru, Cambodia, etc.
There were a few alleyways that brought to mind Beijing’s hutongs (but much cleaner). It was in one of these alleys that I found another ramen shop. Heck, there was not reason I couldn’t have two large bowls of ramen in a day. You only live once.
The special of the day, read the placard on the bar, was the mapo tofu ramen. Well, any dish that combined my favorite Japanese dish and one of my favorite Chinese dishes was a must. It arrived not long after ordering, bright red and still bubbling. And goodness, what a thick and spicy sauce! The cooks certainly maintained the textural integrity of Sichuan mapo tofu, and kept it fiery enough (if light of the Sichuan peppercorn) to warrant gulping down two Sapporos.
The experience reminded me of trying jajangmyeon in Seoul; Korea had taken a Chinese dish of noodles in black bean paste, thickened the sauce, minimized the vegetables, and turned it into a national obsession that’s served at both fast food joints and classier establishments. Mapo tofu ramen isn’t quite a national obsession in Japan, but it is a hybrid dish that has seemingly become a huge part of its noodle culture.
So here’s my version, which involved slightly tweaking my mapo tofu recipe to accommodate the addition of chicken broth and noodles. It’s not quite as thick as the version I had in Yokohama, but you can certainly change that by doubling or tripling the cornstarch-mixed-with-water amount. And don’t fret about not having springy house-made ramen; all you need is the instant ramen that’s already sitting in your cupboards.
Have you ever traveled to another country and found a local favorite that involved altering a Chinese dish?
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Sauce:
- 1/2 tablespoon fermented black beans
- 2 tablespoons chili bean paste
- 1/2 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper
Other ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
- 4 ounces ground pork or beef
- 2 scallions, white and green parts separated and chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 block soft or medium-firm tofu (about 1 pound), drained and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 packets instant ramen
- Prepare the sauce: In a small bowl, mash the fermented black beans with the back of a spoon. Stir the mashed black beans with the chili bean paste, rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and Sichuan pepper. Set aside.
- Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and evaporates on contact. Add the oil and swirl to coat the base. Add the pork and stir-fry for 2 minutes until no longer pink, breaking up the meat with a spatula. Reduce the heat to medium, then add the scallion whites, garlic, and ginger. Stir-fry briefly until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the black bean mixture and chicken broth. Bring the liquid to a boil, the reduce to a simmer. Add the tofu cubes. Allow the broth to simmer for about 5 minutes.
- While the broth is simmering, cook the ramen according to package instructions. Divide the ramen into individual bowls.
- Season the mapo tofu broth with salt and pepper. Ladle the broth over the ramen and garnish with scallion greens.
Your mapo tofu recipe has been a staple in my house since you posted it. My husband loves it so much, I think it’s his favorite Chinese dish! We make it at least twice a month. I’m really excited to try this variation. I lived on ramen in college and law school, and it took an episode of No Reservations for me to learn that ramen is actually an awesome dish with lots of history and not just something a student can live off for less than $5/week.
Here in the UK, there’s a dish called crispy aromatic duck, which sees a steamed then deep fried duck shredded at the table and served with pancakes et al. This is a bit of a cross between xiang su ya 香酥鴨 and Peking duck. And the Chinese name when listed on menus is also 香酥鴨. I’m not sure how this dish came about, as despite its roots, it’s served largely by Cantonese restaurateurs.
I’ve never seen dish outside of the UK, and friends of mine have expressed surprise at how they couldn’t find it in China. Or that how the duck was different when it came to the table, the duck being authentic Peking duck!
Mapo tofu ramen? I love Chinese noodles and I will not let this recipe just pass. Let my palate taste it or i’ll — never mind :) Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I don’t know how authentic it is, but once an Indian friend served me what she told me was one of the most loved street food in Mumbai. She said it was called ‘Manchurian vegetables’ because it was brought by Chinese immigrants, and adapted to local taste. It was basically fried cauliflower floret with a ‘Chinese’ sauce. Sorry I can’t give you more details, but it was really delicious – and it did taste like a crossover betweeen Chinese and Indian flavours.
Ok…obviously beats the store brands…I will try this soon. Thank for posting.
I’ll echo what Caffettiera said. Chinese dishes for the Indian restaurant-goer are pretty amazing, not quite Chinese or Indian, but tending toward Indian. Really tasty stuff. I last had had this food several years back with the family of one of my colleagues there who said it was very, very popular. I wish I had taken notes ‘cuz I would like to replicate a couple of those dishes. Everything was vegetarian, of course, like the gobi manchurian.
What a great recipe! This is a great go-to dish. Can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing! I love the idea of ramen noodles.
Ma Po Tofu is one of my favorite comfort foods. Ramen is another. Once it cools down, I am totally going to try this!
Diana,
Believe it or not, we have a few ramen shops here in Hawaii that serve mabo ramen and they are run by Koreans. I love the combination of ramen noodles and the spicy sauce! Funny because it isn’t like tradition mapo tofu sauce, but more like a Korean interpretation of it.
Really, Mapo tofu ramen is a delicious Chinese food based from the recipe and the yummy photo you presented here. I am a fan of noodles and I would definitely try this.
That crispy duck is Irish/Chinese originally. It is the invention, and usually the product, of an Irish company called Silver Hills ducks. They were looking for a way to mass produce Peking Duck at a more affordable price and this version was a massive hit with local Chinese tasters, and later with the Chinese communities of the UK and Ireland. You can usually find it in Chinese supermarkets in the UK and recently I’ve seen it in Chinese supermarkets in France, Germany and Italy. I’m told they are now also exporting a lot of it to Hong Kong. It is actually now being imitated (badly) by duck producers across Europe. Don’t buy the Lidl version which is tough and tasteless and soggy.
The Yokohama China Town *is* too clean and like a theme park. It is very different from the China towns in London or NYC or Manila. That said it is was one of my favorite hang outs during my university years and beyond. My friend’s mom has an apartment walking distance from it and we used to meet at Motomachi and then go to China Town.
It’s fun visiting Chinatowns from around the world. I’ve been to the ones in SF, NY, Boston, Paris, and Singapore. And I would give the clean award to the one in Singapore. The Chinatown in SF and NY are on the other end of the cleanliness spectrum.
this was delicious! Added more black bean and chili paste (both the korean kind) and added more chili flakes (i love it blisteringly hot!)
It was so good! First recipe I’ve made on this website.. about to go find some more :)
Made this tonight and it was awesome! Didn’t have the peppers on hand so I used some red pepper flakes to add a little heat. Definitely will be making it again.
One question: in your post you mention that if you want the sauce thicker to double the cornstarch and water amount, but in the recipe no cornstarch or water are listed. How much would you recommend using?
Stephanie – You can just mix about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water to thicken the soup slightly. Hope that helps. So happy you liked the recipe!
I came across this recipe when looking for Mapo Tofu recipes, and have made it a couple of time since. It’s a delicious recipe! I made it with ground turkey because my kids can’t eat pork, and I don’t feel like it hurt the flavor at all. Thank you for such a great recipe!