My attending physician for one of my acupuncture shifts, Dr Deng, is from China. He is as good a cook as he is an acupuncturist, and last quarter we had a potluck for which he made Ma Po tofu. I made some too! And basically it was a little tofu party for everyone. My recipe here isn’t traditional but it’s so good and goes beautifully over a big pile of steamed broccoli. Anyway, there’s a vegan variation for the recipe below.

I’ll admit that there are a couple ingredients in this recipe that can be omitted for fewer carbs but if you plan it out well, you can have this meal and stay well within your daily allotment.

Enjoy!

Keto Ma Po Tofu

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground pork (click here for the best, cleanest pork EVER!)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 TBSP minced ginger
• 2 TBSP chili garlic paste (in Asian food section)
• 16 oz of sliced mushrooms
• 1 can sliced and drained water chestnuts
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup dry sherry
• 1/4 cup tamari (gluten free soy sauce)
• 1/2 TBSP dark avocado honey
• 1 1/2 tsp tapioca flour mixed with 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 2 packages of extra firm tofu, cubed

Method:

1. Brown pork in a deep pot over medium high heat with the garlic and ginger.
2. Mix in chili garlic paste and mushrooms and stir until mushrooms are softened.
3. Mix in water chestnuts, broth, sherry, tamari, and honey and boil for 5 mins, stirring frequently.
4. Stir in tapioca mixture until well-incorporated.
5. Turn off heat and fold in tofu cubes.
6. Serve over steamed broccoli or cauliflower rice.

For vegan variation, use double mushrooms instead of pork and add 1/4 cup oil at the start of recipe.

Yields 4-6 servings

Nutrition for 4 servings:

• Fat: 18 g
• Protein: 22 g
• Net carbs: 12 g
• Fiber: 4 g