Friday, September 28, 2007

Mabo Don


Today's Lunch -- "Mabo Don"

Dear readers,

Yep, I'm still hanging in there at the new workplace (bento shop). Still trying hard to learn new things -- a lot of them -- at work. No, even after work, in my apartment, too! I wish I could show you my bento drawings scattered all over the floor. Yeah, they are artistic... in a sense, I would say.

One great thing is that I learned the secret ingredient they use to make their tamagoyaki tasty. It's probably their confidential information so I shouldn't post the recipe, but I might modify theirs and make my own tamagoyaki recipe sometime in the near future. I'll post it if I come up with a good one. ;)



Well, today's lunch does not have anything to do with the tamagoyaki story above. I just had a quick lunch with the leftovers in the fridge and these photos show what I had. We call this dish "mabo donburi" or "mabo don" here, because in Japanese, 麻婆豆腐 is usually pronounced "mabo dofu" instead of "mapo tofu." How I made the mapo tofu? ... Just heated chopped silken tofu in one of those pre-made sauce in retort pouch. Easy enough.

BTW, I don't use a spoon when I eat mabo don; I can eat it with chopsticks. Great, ha? ;)


Categories:

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Obachan,

I discovered your blog about a year ago and visit it often, but I have been given my aisatsu!

Your mabodon looks so oishee.

<3

Anonymous said...

Obachan,
What a wonderful idea! Mabo don, I'm the type of person that usually likes to mix everything before I eat so eating from a bowl is a great idea! Of course, my mother always tells me it's rude to mix the donburi before eating. Can't wait for your tamagoyaki recipe! ;)

K and S said...

looks good, though I'd need a spoon.

child-prodigy said...

Eating anything with just chopsticks feels like an accomplishment to me, except a few things that needs a knife involve. Most of the time I just use chopsticks.

Carolie said...

I LOVE this dish...and now that I've had good, fresh silken tofu here in Japan, I am spoiled, and can't go back to that processed stuff. I love visiting your blog, and hope to see some photos of the dishes at the new bento place!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

That dish looks really delicious! I'm sure I'd love it!

obachan said...

Anonymous commenter
Arigato!
Hope you keep visiting my blog :)

Cocogirl
Oh, my dad is just like that. No matter what kind of donburi it is -- or even curry rice -- he mixes everything and does a very thorough job. :D

K & S
To tell you the truth, I think I should use a spoon when I eat donburi with someone. I'm OK in the beginning... but towards the end, as I try to bring the rice grains at the bottom of the bowl together using chopsticks, I become silent and just can't stay sociable. :P

Child-prodigy
I have a confession to make. When I eat something that I should use a knife to cut but feel lazy to get one from the kitchen, I hold one chopstick in each hand and hold the food with the left chopstick and cut with the right one. A big no-no in a formal situation, but I do this often when eating alone ;P

Carolie
Yeah, I like fresh silken tofu very much. Some people love mapo tofu with firm tofu, but I prefer the softness of silken tofu.
Uh... If I post the dishes at my bento shop, some readers of this blog living in Kochi may know where I work at, and I'd rather keep it a secret. Sorry.

Rosa's Yummy Yums
Maybe it's a strange "Japanized" Chinese dish, but it does taste good. ;) At first, I wasn't too crazy about the "tofu on rice" idea, but the tasty and spicy sauce just makes everything great.

child-prodigy said...

That's funny, obachan. I do the same sometimes, unless I really can't do it.

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm,
I love Mabo Dofu with silken tofu since I've found a recipe in a japanese cookbook... I've "germanised" it a bit (less oil, more tomatoes, a sip more sake - I like my sauces less "soupy") and I like my version even better than the Mabo Dofu I had in Chukagai in Yokohama.
Super-oishii ^-^

Anonymous said...

Looking forward to see "the secret" once you've added your own touches to the tamagoyaki. BTW, your bento drawings must be nice. Have you thought of posting them on your "watercolors" site? Sure would like to see them -lance

obachan said...

Child-prodigy
Glad to know that I'm not the only one ;)

Cara
I bet more tomatoes would give mabo dofu a healthier touch. I really would like to taste your version.

Lance
Hahaha... nice idea, but I'd rather keep my hobby (watercolor painting) away from the biggest source of anxiety at this point. ;)

Hungry Hamster said...

The mabo don looks great!! I haven't tried the japanese packed one before, but looking at the photos, it looks soo good!