Mapo Tofu

The Best Thing I Ate This Month – February 2026
SpicyMAN, 958 Merivale Rd, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Authentic Sichuan and Northeast Chinese cuisine.

SpicyMAN, 958 Merivale Rd, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Authentic Sichuan and Northeast Chinese cuisine.

The Best Thing I Ate This Month is usually about one dish, one bite that refuses to leave your mind. It is not designed to survey an entire menu. But this time, any attempt at restraint felt dishonest. I found myself thinking about this meal for days afterward. I told people about it unprompted. This is not my usual habit. I am typically an eat it and move on kind of guy. This lingered.

SpicyMAN sits next to a barbecue spot in a stretch of Merivale that feels more practical than picturesque. You could miss it. Open the door and you are greeted not by a dining room but by a mountain of stairs. No explanation. Just a climb. So many steps that my friend, already inside, texted to ask if this was truly the place.

Climb them.

At the top, the space opens wide and bright, all exposed ceilings and visible pipes, an industrial expanse that feels unexpectedly airy after the awkward entrance. It is unadorned but confident, as if to say the spectacle will arrive on the plates.

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Spicy Chilli French Bean Mapo Tofu
Spicy Chilli French Bean Mapo Tofu

Spicy Chilli French Bean Mapo Tofu, Asian Green: Everyday plant-based recipes inspired by the East by Ching-He Huang. Photography by Tamin Jones.

Asian Green
Asian food has always included a variety of meat and dairy-free recipes. Focusing entirely on these plant-based dishes, Ching-He Huang draws inspiration from across Asia to create simple, everyday, healthy home cooking that features protein-rich ingredients such as tofu, seitan, pulses, beans and grains.
The inspiration behind the book is Ching’s husband, Jamie. From birth, he suffered from asthma and eczema but three and a half years ago, three months after adopting a vegan diet, he was cured. Ching has always believed in the age-old Chinese maxim that “food is medicine”, and having experienced first-hand the transformation of her husband’s health, she firmly believes in the healing power of plants to reduce inflammation, to restore, nourish and replenish.
This book is full of inspiring, quick and simple recipes, perfect for vegetarians, vegans and people looking to reduce the amount of meat in their diets.

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