Talk:Mapo tofu/Archive 1

Pork not authentic?
The article asserts that versions containing minced pork instead of beef aren't authentic Sichuan, but virutally every version I've ever eaten (including in China, though admittedly not in Sichuan province) uses pork. I've also known chefs from Sichuan who use pork in their versions. Can someone else make a good argument for beef being the "real" Sichuanese recipe? Rpine75 (talk) 00:50, 28 March 2008 (UTC)
 * There isn't. Pork, beef, or even chicken, may be used. Probably the most common version would be pork, as beef is not eaten by devout buddhists. InfernoXV (talk) 04:00, 28 March 2008 (UTC)
 * see my comment above; as i mentioned, the choice of meat (or even vegetarian) varies greatly and may have even changed over time so it is not that which makes the dish authentic. vegetarian mapo tofu is just as "authentic" as beef or pork mapo tofu, but mapo tofu that does not use Sichuan pepper (which you will find tons of in American Chinatowns) is really unauthentic. that's my take on it.


 * Okay, I went ahead and made a minor edit to reflect that pork -or- beef are both "traditional" ingredients. I agree that the real deal mapo doufu needs to have Sichuan pepper. Rpine75 (talk) 05:24, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Recipe link is vegetarian
The first recipe link is to a vegetarian version. This isn't very authentic or representative of the standard dish. If no-one objects, I'll delete it and replace it with this: —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.105.255.36 (talk) 15:27, 17 March 2008 (UTC)
 * i would suggest keeping both. a lot of people talk about the "authenticity" of this dish but this is one of those dishes that you can hardly say much of what "authenticity" means since it has evolved so much over places and times. i even know Chinese people who prefer making the dish without meat. if anything, authenticity of this dish comes from the sauces and sichuan peppers and not the meat or what type of meat.


 * the most authentic recipe i've found yet is this http://www.rasamalaysia.com/2007/09/recipe-ma-po-tofu.html . by the way, it doesn't matter what meat (or even no meat) mapo tofu uses, that is not what makes it authentic. the real signature flavour of mapo tofu comes from using the right type of 辣豆瓣酱 （in particular you want 郫县豆瓣） and spices and sauces mixed in the correct way. Sichuan peppercorns are essential as well. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 18.138.1.34 (talk) 18:22, 6 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Okay, what external link nazi decided to remove ALL the recipe links without posting here? I demand a reason or I will add them back in a few days. (and no, this is not self-promotion and none of the recipe links are mine; I just feel that having a good, representative recipe link to food articles is always a good thing). 18.138.1.34 (talk) 03:38, 9 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Persistent spammers are blocked on a regular basis. OhNo itsJamie Talk 05:14, 9 December 2008 (UTC)

Picture
I'd like to change the main picture of the article to this one:. It is a picture I took myself in Chengdu's 陈麻婆 restaurant, instituted in 1862 supposedly by the Mapo herself, and is by far considered to be the most authentic place to have the dish. Let me know if there are objections. Dheerav2 (talk) 02:47, 31 March 2009 (UTC)

Meaning of name?
If some speaker of Chinese would verify the bit about the meaning of the words "mapo doufu", I would appreciate it. Alls I knows is what I reads in the cookbook. --JdwNYC 01:00, 11 August 2005 (UTC)

The meaning of the name: Also in response of the ariticle "Mapo Dofu" below
From what I have read in Chinese sources, and from the stories I have read when I was younger (I am Chinese), the "Ma" in "Mapo" is not the last name of the female cook who invented the dish. The last name of the female cook is "Chen", which is her married name (her husband's last name), and her original family name was Liu. She has visible pockmarks on her face, which is why people call her "Mapo". The word "Po" is not strictly used for old women, it is also a respectful title for a female. The Chinese wiki did say that there are many versions of the story about the origin of Mapo Dofu, however I have to say I have never seen the explanation of "Ma" as the lady's last name in Chinese sources.

The Chinese wiki itself sited the most popular story: Mapo Dofu was invented in Qing Dynasty by the wife of a restaurant owner, Liu (Traditional: 劉氏 / Simplified: 刘氏). The name of the restaurant owner is Sen-Fu Chen (Traditional: 陳森富 / Simplified: 陈森富), and the restaurant is located near the Wan-Fu bridge, north of Chengdu, Szhechuan. The restaurant was renamed to "Chen Mapo Dofu Dian" (Traditional:陳麻婆豆腐店 / Simplified: 陈麻婆豆腐店, Dian=Restaurant, eatery).

The original restaurant is said to have existed until 2005, when a big fire burnt the place down. They have since relocated the restaurant. The restaurant have evolved, of course, and is not what it used to be, but it is still famous for its Mapo Dofu dish. It is given the honour as one of the "China Time-honored Brand" (中华老字号) by the Chinese government. Its official website can be found at http://www.chenmapo.com. I have to warn you though, the English version of the website gives far less detail than the Chinese version, just compare the two "History" pages that contained the story of the restaurant. Junashi -2008/12/18- —Preceding unsigned comment added by Junashi (talk • contribs) 07:20, 18 December 2008 (UTC)
 * A great story. The Ma in Mapo refers to Ma 麻 as in numbing, the same as this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_mala . It is reference to the Sichuan pepper which many Chinese places incorrectly omit since it was banned for import to the US until 2005. Ciper (talk) 05:48, 12 December 2011 (UTC)

Angel Beats! ep 5
In the anime Angel Beats! (episode 5, Favorite Flavor), Tachibana Kanade buys a meal ticket for mapo doufu, her favorite dish. Otonashi Yuzuru gets the ticket and eats the dish, which he finds quite spicy but tasteful. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.192.237.24 (talk) 22:49, 10 January 2014 (UTC)
 * How is that relevant to anything?! --96.251.5.73 (talk) 01:29, 27 September 2014 (UTC)