Vegetarian Mapo Tofu

I loved mapo tofu!  The usual mapo tofu is cooked with ground pork and since I stop buying pork and too lazy to mince some chicken breast, I created a vegetarian version.  I substituted the ground pork with fresh shiitake mushroom, of course you can use the meaty portabello mushroom too (or crimini or button mushroom).  Since mushroom is good for us, I try to cook more mushroom dishes. 

Ingredients:

1 box of organic soft tofu, cut into small cubes
5 fresh Shiitake mushrooms, rinsed and cut into small pieces
1 small organic carrot, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 green onions, washed and chopped (separate the green and white sections)
1/4 cup of chopped red bell pepper
1 Tbsp. minced ginger
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. soy bean paste
1 Tbsp. sambal oelek
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
White pepper

Method:

1.  Heat up your wok, when hot, add in cooking oil of your choice.  When hot, add in minced ginger and white part of the green onion, stir-fry until fragrant.  Add in minced garlic and mushrooms.  Stir-fry until mushroom is soften, add a little water if need to.

2.  Scoop the mushroom to the side.  Add in a little oil in the wok.  Add in the soy bean paste and fry until fragrant.  Add in the sambal oelek and mix well.  

3.  Add in the carrot and red bell pepper.  Stir-fry well.  Then, add in the soft tofu.  Mix well.

4.  Season with salt and sugar.  Lastly add in the green part of green onion and stir to mix well.  Before serving, sprinkle with some white pepper.