Stinky tofu
 |
|
| Place of origin | China |
|---|---|
| Main ingredients | tofu |
 |
|
| Stinky tofu | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 臭豆腐 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Literal meaning | stinky tofu | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | chòudòufu |
| Gan | |
| Romanization | chhiu2 theu5 fuh |
| Hakka | |
| Romanization | Tshu-theu-fú |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Jyutping | cau3 dau6 fu6 |
| Southern Min | |
| Hokkien POJ | chhàu-tāu-hū |
Stinky tofu (Chinese: 臭豆腐; pinyin: chòudòufu), is a form of fermented tofu that has a strong odor. It is usually sold at night markets or roadside stands as a snack, or in lunch bars as a side dish, rather than in restaurants.
Unlike cheese, stinky tofu fermentation does not have a fixed formula for starter bacteria; wide regional and individual variations exist in manufacturing and preparation.
The traditional method of producing stinky tofu is to prepare a brine made from fermented milk, vegetables, and meat; the brine can also include dried shrimp, amaranth greens, mustard greens, bamboo shoots, and Chinese herbs. The brine fermentation can take as long as several months.
Modern factories often use quicker methods to mass-produce stinky tofu. Fresh tofu is marinated in prepared brine for only a day or two, especially for fried or boiled cooking purposes. The process only adds odor to the marinated tofu instead of letting it ferment completely.
Stinky tofu can be eaten cold, steamed, stewed, or, most commonly, deep-fried, and it is often accompanied by chili sauce. The color varies from the golden, fried Zhejiang-style to the black, typical of Hunan-style stinky tofu.
From a distance, the odor of stinky tofu is said to resemble that of rotten garbage or smelly feet. Some people have compared it to the taste of blue cheese, while others have compared it to rotten meat. It is said that the more it smells, the better its flavor.
According to folk stories, stinky tofu was invented by a person named Wang Zhi-He (王致和) during the Qing dynasty. However, there are different variations of the story.
...
Wikipedia