Vegetarian Tomato Mapo Tofu

• Vegetable oil (or other neutral oil)
• 1 yellow onion, halved and cut into ½-inch wedges
• 6 oz cremini mushrooms, trimmed and halved or quartered, depending on size
• Salt and pepper
• 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1½ whole dried red chiles (such as er jing tiao or chile de árbol) or ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2½ tbsp doubanjiang (fermented spicy broad bean paste) or Chinese black bean sauce
• ½ to 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns (to your liking)
• 1 lb tomatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 (14- to 16-ounce) packages silken tofu, drained
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• Cooked rice, to serve

Instructions

1. Heat a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot on medium-high. When hot, drizzle with 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil and then add the onion and mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Stir until the mushrooms and onions have softened and have golden edges, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Add the ginger, garlic, dried chiles, doubanjiang and Sichuan peppercorns, and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, soy sauce and ½ cup water, and stir to combine.
3. Add the silken tofu to the pot, breaking it up into irregular chunks, and gently stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
4. To serve, drizzle with sesame oil, top with scallions and eat with rice.