What it is
Stinky tofu (臭豆腐, chou doufu) is fresh tofu that has been steeped in a fermented brine. The soak gives it a sharp smell that carries well beyond the stall, while the taste is much milder. In Taiwan it is sold at night markets and specialist shops, most often deep-fried until the skin turns crisp and golden.
Where it came from
Legend credits its invention to Wang Zhihe (王致和), a scholar from Anhui who failed the imperial examination in 1669 and stayed on in Beijing selling tofu. What he is remembered for, though, is a fermented bean curd (臭豆腐乳), unlike the soaked tofu eaten today.
Stinky tofu spread across Taiwan after the Second World War, carried by migrants from mainland China. Local makers adapted the brine. A traditional Taiwanese version uses the tough stems of amaranth soaked in water left from washing rice, fermented for six months at room temperature. The Food Industry Research and Development Institute later developed starter cultures that cut the fermentation to about a month and passed the method to industry.
The trade has had scandals. In 2003 inspectors in Taoyuan found large numbers of illegal backstreet workshops making it in filthy conditions, which shook public confidence. Taiwan has also produced a dish of its own, the stinky tofu hotpot (臭臭鍋), which has caught on only there.
How it is made
Plant-based brines can contain dozens of ingredients, such as coral tree leaves, wild amaranth, bamboo shoots, winter melon, ginger and Sichuan pepper, lightly salted and left to ferment for more than eight months. Some Taiwanese brines use seafood or pork instead. Tofu blocks are left in the brine to take on its smell. For frying, the tofu goes into hot oil until the skin crisps, and some shops fry it twice. Grilled versions are skewered, brushed with barbecue sauce and cooked over charcoal for a few minutes.
How to eat it
Fried stinky tofu comes cut open, with Taiwanese pickled cabbage (台式泡菜), which is crisp and slightly sour, plus chilli sauce, garlic paste and spring onion. Many vendors add everything unless told otherwise. One popular tip is to push the pickles into the tofu and eat each piece in one bite. Steamed is the most pungent form. Mala stinky tofu is simmered with duck blood (鴨血) in a spicy broth.
Around Taiwan
- Tainan
- The Japanese fermentation scholar Koizumi Takeo has said the stinky tofu he ate in Tainan was far smellier than any he had in China. Yancheng Beiji Temple Stinky Tofu (鹽埕北極殿臭豆腐) in South District fries each block whole, then cuts and refries it to drive out oil.
- North
- Shenkeng Old Street (深坑老街) in New Taipei has a whole street of stinky tofu eateries, and the charcoal-grilled skewer is believed to have started in Shenkeng. One shop there serves a red-braised set with duck blood and bamboo shoots, another a garlic version.
- Central
- At Longdeng Night Market in Yuanlin, Changhua, one stall sells a black-skinned stinky tofu heaped with chilli bean paste. It smells milder than the usual kind, and its fermentation method is said to come from Hunan.
