Vegan mapo tofu recipe with shiitake mushrooms and crispy chilli oil

Ingredients

• 600ml water
• 25g dried shiitake mushrooms
• 3 tbsp neutral oil (avocado or rice bran oils are examples)
• 4 dried chillies
• 2 tbsp doubanjiang (fermented broad bean paste)
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 tbsp ginger, peeled and grated
• 50g fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems trimmed and caps cut into 3-4 slices
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp ground Sichuan pepper
• ¼ tsp Chinese five-spice powder
• 400g soft (but not silken) tofu, dried and cut into 2-3cm dice
• 1 tbsp cornflour whisked into 3 tbsp cold water
• 2 tsp Lao Gan Ma chilli sauce* (or more if you like your food spicy)
• ½ cup spring onions, white and green parts thinly sliced
• steamed white rice, to serve
• ½ cup fresh coriander, loosely packed, to serve