This was
Mapo-Tofu.
I have been making something like this, replacing Tofu with
eggplant and/or with or
without ground pork. However, I haven't used right spices because I didn't have them, so I substituted them with others like Miso paste. This time I have the right spices finally. I bought
Toban-jan or spicy black bean and chili paste and
Tenmen-jan or sweet bean paste in Japan and took them with me!
I also adapted a
recipe of
Mapo-Tofu that I found online, which has been reviewed very well. The recipe called for 1 to 2 teaspoon of
Toban-jan to adjust the spicy level. I wasn't sure how much
Toban-jan I should use, but was sure J won't mind spicy food. I went with 2 teaspoons. The result wasn't spicy even for me. I will increase a bit more next time. The flavor of the dish was complex and tasty. I was happy with the new spice pastes!
