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Mapo doufu, or mapo tofu, is a popular Chinese dish from the Sichuan (Szechuan) province. It is a combination of tofu (bean curd) set in a spicy chili- and bean-based sauce, typically a thin, oily, and bright red suspension, and often topped with minced meat, usually pork or beef. Variations exist with other ingredients such as water chestnuts, onions, other vegetables, or auricular fungus, but these are rarely considered authentic Sichuanese.

Yuxiang (simplified Chinese: 鱼香; traditional Chinese: 魚香; pinyin: yú xiāng; literally “fish fragrance”) is a seasoning mixture in Chinese cuisine, and also refers to the resulting sauce in which meat or vegetables are cooked in. It is said to have originated in Sichuan cuisine, but has since spread to other regional Chinese cuisines. The technique of sauteeing the combined base ingredients of garlic, scallions and ginger is sometimes compared with the French mirepoix, and is acknowledged as the Chinese equivalent of the holy trinity culinary term^[1].

On top of the basic mixture, cooking yuxiang almost always includes the use of sugar, salt, doubanjiang, soy sauce, and chili peppers^[2].