Modernist Recipes DB

Ma Po Tofu fluid gel

Inspired by Grant Achatz and adapted from Modernist Cuisine

This fluid gel recipe started with Grant Achatz and was adapted by the team at The Cooking Lab for Modernist Cuisine as ‘Umami seasoning fluid gel’ (volume 4, page 183).

Our adaptation here was borne from a desire to intensify the flavours in our standard Ma Po Tofu. We found ourselves writing long notes to accompany the recipe—how to create a thick and flavoursome liquid to combine with the ground meat which forms the base of the dish.

The basis of this recipe is simply a flavoursome, umami-rich gel stock which can be used for other purposes.

Time

25 minutes total: 10 minutes attended, 15 minutes unattended

Difficulty

easy 

Yield

300 g

Ingredients
Weight
Volume
Procedure
A
Stock
200 g
⅘ cup
Tomato ketchup
20 g
4 tsp
Honey
15 g
1 tbsp
Fish sauce
10 g
2 tsp
Sherry vinegar
5 g
1 tsp
1
Combine and blend.
B
Agar
0.75 g
2
Disperse into cold mixture A.
3
Bring mixture to at least 95°C / 203°F and hold for 3 minutes to fully hydrate.
4
(Optional) Transfer to jug of a blender and blend for 15 seconds.
5
Transfer to a wide and shallow mold.
6
Refrigerate until set, at least 30 minutes.
7
Cut gel into cubes.
8
Transfer to blender.
C
Fermented bean paste (doubanjiang)
30 g
2 tbsp
Dark soy sauce
10 g
2 tsp
Light soy sauce
10 g
2 tsp
9
Add to blender and purée until very smooth.
0
(Optional) Pass through a fine sieve.

Original: 2007. Adapted: 2015.

Notes

Make sure you start with a flavourful stock, preferably one that is already intense enough to gel in the fridge. If your stock is still completely liquid when frozen, reduce it until it forms a gel in the fridge. You can test this by taking a small amount of liquid (15 g or 1 tbs) and placing it in a shallow bowl in the fridge. It should chill quickly. If it forms a light gel, you can stop reducing. Weigh out the amount required for the recipe after reducing.

The optional blending process was discovered at Stella Culinary. We haven’t tried it yet. We will report on this when we get the chance.

The real setting time in step 6 will depend on the depth of the liquid. A shallower liquid, achieved by using a wide, flat vessel, will result in faster setting times.

Food pairings

Ma Po Tofu

Nutrition
Serving size 300 g; calories 83.8 kcal, kilojoules 352.9 kJ, protein 3 g, carbohydrates 17.6 g, sugar 15.4 g, fat 0.5 g, saturated fat 0.1 g, unsaturated fat 0.2 g, trans fat 0 g, fiber 0.5 g, cholesterol 0 mg,

Type component fluid gel

Author

Yield

g

Serve

Per
serve
Energy (kcal)83.8
Energy (kJ)352.9
Protein (g)3
Fat (g)0.5
Carbs (g)17.6
Sugars (g)15.4
Fiber (g)0.5
Sodium (mg)2543.6
Cholesterol (mg)0

Full details