Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsWeak Flavor
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2020
I was very excited to receive this product based on the reviews as I had been craving mapo tofu for weeks now. When I opened the bag I wasn't met by an explosion of pungency as I was expecting, but I thought it was because the peppercorns needed roasting. I roasted 3 grounded tablespoons of this pepper with hot oil along with garlic and fresh grated ginger for about 30 seconds as I'd seen my mother do a million times. Then I added minced meat and finally silken tofu. This is for about 1 quart of mapo tofu. I would have thought 3 Tablespoons would be enough. I didn't smell enough of the pepper fragrance as I was making the dish and was starting to adjust my expectations downward for the final product. When I had my first bite of the mapo tofu there was a weak attempt by the pepper to make an appearance...and then it went away as anticlimatically as it came. I strongly believe that if I were in China better peppercorns could be had for a fraction of the price, but I'm not in China so I have to settle for this.
