Peel and finely chop the garlic, and peel and finely grate the ginger - you'll need roughly a tablespoon's worth.

Trim off and discard the whiskery ends from the spring onions, and any very dry bits off the tops, then divide them into white and green parts, slice both on the diagonal into roughly 2 cm lengths and keep them separate.

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil.

Cut the tofu into roughly 2.5 cm chunks.

Mix the cornflour (or potato/tapioca starch) and a tablespoon of cold water to make a paste.

Turn down the heat under the boiling water, then gently slip in the tofu, keeping the pieces as intact as possible.

Simmer gently for a minute, then turn off the heat.

Meanwhile, toast half the peppercorns in a dry pan until aromatic, then grind to a powder and set aside.

Put a wok or a medium frying pan on a medium-high heat, then add the oil.

Once it starts to smoke, add the remaining whole peppercorns and fry, stirring, until aromatic; take care not to let them burn.

Scoop out and discard the peppercorns, leaving the infused oil in the pan.

Add the meat and fry until brown and crisp.

Scoop the mince out of the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving as much oil behind as possible, and transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain.

Turn down the heat slightly, then fry the garlic, ginger and spring onion whites for a minute or so, stirring constantly.

Stir in the bean paste, fermented black beans and chilli, fry for 20 seconds, then pour in 85 ml cold water and bring to a simmer.

Stir in the cornflour paste until well combined.

Carefully drain the blanched tofu so it doesn't break up, then tip it into the wok along with the fried mince.

Spoon the sauce over the tofu and meat, disturbing the tofu as little as possible so as to keep it intact, and cook until the sauce thickens.

Gently decant into a serving bowl, sprinkle with the reserved ground pepper and spring onion greens, and serve with plain rice.