Mapu Tofu (with or with out tofu!)

You do not have to add tofu to this you could add paneer instead or leave it out entirely and it is like a Chinese hash dish!

This is comfort food! Not pretty enough to take a picture of very easy to make and never any leftovers at my house unless I take some and hide it for lunch the next day! I thought I had changed it so much from what "real" Mapu Tofu was that I should not call it that anymore! But a friend who (happens to be from Taiwan) reassured me that like any other home style comfort food, there as many ways to make this as there are folks who make it! So please try it and feel free to play with it.
it can be induction friendly by just leaving the tofu or paneer out along with no coconut milk or the sesame seeds

My husband who is from the midwest refers to it as Chinese style Hotdish

to start mix together well and set aside for at least an hour the following
1 lb fresh ground beef or pork
1 bunch minced green onions
4 cloves of fresh garlic mashed
2 inches fresh grated ginger
1/2 tsp five spice powder
2 tbl soy sauce
2 tbl coconut vinegar (any good vinegar is fine)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed dried red hot chiles
1 tbl crushed toasted sesame seeds
1 big egg


in a saute pan
over med put 1/4 lb diced bacon
and 1 lb of diced diakon radish

cook turning every ten min or so until cooked through

when the radish is done cooking add the ground beef and cook pushing it around breaking it up with the radish and bacon until done through
tast for seasoning (it should be perfect actually )
and you could be done at this point if you are not adding tofu or coconut milk
if you are then
add 1 package of firm or soft tofu (some people add both actually)
1/2 cup of coconut milk
bring to a low boil and done!
garnish with some minced green onions, toasted sesame oil and seeds






disclaimer
Please note: The internet is a huge place and I would never want to take anyone else's recipe and call it my own. I do not claim to have "developed" anything because I haven't! I make an honest effort to credit where credit is due. But in this case, I really do not know if anyone has made this the same way prior to me and have not researched it so do not hold it against me if someone else has published or posted elsewhere, thank you