Food for (idle) thought

I keep the TV on while working on the computer. Ma insists it is wasteful (she is right), but the background noise relaxes me, and on occasion even provides bursts of inspiration. Take the other night. I was stuck trying to find an in on this post about tofu, a subject I’m indifferent to at best, when out of the blue I heard the word in the same sentence with “gay.” Eh, what the–?

Listen: I’m only mentioning this for laughs. Homosexuality is a contentious enough topic. Still, never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that it could be caused by plain old food. The theory, as it were, goes thus: tofu is made from soy, which is rich in phytoestrogens, which are structurally similar to the human female estrogen hormones; ergo, feed a male baby soy formula and he just might grow up to be BB Gandanghari. Or at least into a pair of man-boobs.

In fairness, infants are especially vulnerable to the effects of estrogen that may only become apparent in later years (i.e., puberty; see US NIH Q&A), so consider asking your parents what milk they had you on as a tot. That is if you think something is seriously aberrant about you. (And, no, I have not thought of asking mine.) Other foods that contain phytoestrogens include blackberry (and most berries), green bean, cabbage, broccoli, garlic, mung bean sprout, sesame seed, and flax seed (far and away with the most). I am only singling out soy because it comes in a lot of things.

So, are you man enough to have some mapo tofu? I’m referring to the spice factor, but of course. Were you thinking of something else? A-ha.

Mapo Tofu

This recipe uses silken or soft tofu. While some suggest that parboiling tofu in salted water for 10-15 minutes firms it up, I prefer to think of the step as pre-cooking/warming the pieces so as not have to stir them around so much later. To keep the dish vegetarian, leave out the pork.

• 1 pack silken tofu, drained and cubed
• 250 grams pork, ground or minced
• 2 tablespoons chili oil
• 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
• 2 tablespoons black bean garlic sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili paste
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon dried chili flkakes
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon cornstarch, dispersed in 1 teaspoon cold water
• dash of sesame oil
• ground black pepper
• spring onion greens, to garnish

1. In a pan, place tofu and add enough water to cover plus ½ teaspoon salt. Simmer for at least 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat chili oil in wok over high heat. Add ground pork and stir to break up clumps. When meat loses its raw color (do not toast), pour in wine. Leave a minute for the alcohol to evaporate.
3. Stir in black bean garlic sauce and chili paste until meat is evenly coated. Add vegetable stock, dried chili flakes, soy sauce, and sugar. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes, season to taste, then stir in cornstarch slurry to thicken.
4. Gently add tofu pieces and coat with meat sauce. Simmer for a minute, then finish with a dash of sesame oil and some ground black pepper. Serve garnished with chopped spring onion greens.