Mapo tofu

Mapo tofu is a popular Chinese dish from Sichuan province. It consists of tofu set in a spicy sauce, typically a thin, oily, and bright red suspension, based on douban (fermented broad bean and chili paste), and douchi (fermented black beans), along with minced meat, traditionally beef. Variations exist with other ingredients such as water chestnuts, onions, other vegetables, or wood ear fungus. One account indicates that the dish existed as early as 1254, in a suburb of Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan.[citation needed] Other accounts indicate it originated at a Chengdu restaurant in the 1860s-1870s. "Ma" stands for mázi, 麻子, which means pockmarks. "Po" is the first syllable of pópo, 婆婆, which means an old woman or grandma. Hence, mápó is an old woman whose face is pockmarked. It is thus sometimes translated as "pockmarked grandma's beancurd". Historical records tie the history of mapo tofu to Chen Mapo restaurant in Chengdu. It was opened in either 1862 or 1874 as a Fanpu eatery named ChenXingSheng by a couple named Chen, near a popular Wanfu bridge. According to Li Jieren, the initial version of Mrs Chen, nicknamed "Chen Mapo", was simple, made with chili, pork, tofu, and Sichuan pepper. In 1920s, Chen Mapo hired a chef named Xue Xiangshun, who transformed the eatery into a restaurant and perfected the mapo tofu recipe by cooking with beef instead of pork and adding douchi.

Source: Wikipedia