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Central Asian Cuisine
Just thought I would point out that tofu+animal fat is quite common in Chinese cuisine. Only in the west is tofu primarily thought of as a substitute for meat, as opposed to a complement to it.
Posted to Food by coanders on August 6, 2008
Re: 'ma' is mother, not 'woman'
the ma in mapo doufu is actually the character that means ''pocked.'' The ''po'' as in ''Laopo'' can mean grandma or old woman.
Posted to Explainer by coanders on June 27, 2008
Pock Marked Women with Tofu
That CNN article is strange. ''Tofu made by a Pock-Marked Woman'' or ''Pock-marked Granny's Tofu'' are the literal translations of Mapo Doufu. They haven't changed the name of the dish at all except to replace the Chinese word for tofu with the English word for it. Also, the character that means ''pocked'' is frequently in the names of Chinese ...
Posted to Explainer by coanders on June 23, 2008