Stinky Tofu: And the Same To You Too!
What is stinky tofu and why is it such a popular treat in Taiwan, Indonesia and China?
Stinky tofu, which is actually a form of fermented tofu, is manufactured and prepared in a myriad of ways depending on the region where it is sold.
The strong odor is formidable to say the very least and not for the faint of heart. Stinky tofu is a very popular snack in East and Southeast Asia where it is easily found with no place to hide at night markets or roadside stands.
The words, “stinky tofu”, are a direct translation from the Mandarin term, “chou doufu”. Chou does not translate negatively, like stinky, and is considered a description rather than a judgment of the unmistakable odor.
Usually marinated in a brine made from fermented vegetables for as long as several months, the potent marinade can also include greens, bamboo shoots, herbs and dried shrimp.
Once, stinky tofu was a military staple for soldiers patrolling China’s borders.
From a distance, it is said that rotting garbage is as close as one can come to describing the smell of stinky tofu. Some also say “baby poo” and “hellacious” come a bit closer.
Its flavor is very mild, and some claim it is similar to blue cheese (on non-garbage, pick-up days), Afficianados swear that the worse it smells, the better the flavor.
Stinky tofu can be steamed, eaten cold, stewed or fried, which is the most common form of preparation. Usually served with a chili sauce on the side, the color of stinky tofu varies from golden fried to the black typical of Hunan-style preparation.
In Hong Kong, stinky tofu is a trademark street food along with fish and beef balls, which are deep fried and eaten with hoisin sauce. Sold by the bag, it is guaranteed to contain almost enough grease to oil a diesel truck.
Is stinky tofu for you?
I guess that all depends.
How do you feel about perfume and deodorant?
By MDeeDubroff on 29-08-2008
Comment by STREET VENDOR HAN SOLO
August 29th, 2008 at 11:03 am
EWOKS EAT ROTTEN BUGS ON ENDOR!!! LooL361
Comment by asad baheri
August 29th, 2008 at 11:36 am
It’s not that bad once it’s fried, which is the way it is usually served in Taiwan. The smell is from it’s raw form once you fry it the smell is gone and all you are left with is a crunchy outside and a soft inside. Not bad at all.
Comment by Malabi
August 29th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
It sure doesn’t look tasty on the picture. ^^
Comment by nobody
August 29th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Soy is the most vile thing that ever grew on the surface of this planet.
Comment by nobody
August 29th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
And so are you!
Comment by Space Cowboy
August 29th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
BLEEARGH
It looks like, um, human waste
Comment by emfajar
August 29th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
wueeeekkkkss disturbing picture..
Comment by xavster
August 29th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
better than stinky cheese
Comment by Paul
August 29th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Most street food in HK looks bad, and I’ve had my fair share since I have them every time I go back to Hong Kong (couple times a year) and I must say, they always taste better than they look.
Once I had to persuade a Kiwi friend to try some…. literally deep fried “pig intestine”, “Ox tongue” and “Pig blood”. Needless to say, it took a lot of explaining and persuasion.
Comment by MDeeDubroff
August 30th, 2008 at 2:16 am
Thank you for your thoughts on this.
I appreciate them.
Comment by Matty
August 30th, 2008 at 7:39 am
I enjoy Chou Dofu and I’ve never seen any as ugly as in that pic, mine is all a nice gold colour.
Either way it tastes nice, and other than the ones in that pic, look nice too.
Comment by I eat it all thetime
August 30th, 2008 at 9:44 am
That Hunan style looks great. I’d love to try it. I eat stinky tofu about once a week in Taiwan. Fried is the most common, but I prefer the spicy stinky tofu soup with duck blood pudding which you can find in most night markets. It’s one of the spiciest Taiwanese dishes.
Comment by hschia
August 31st, 2008 at 7:02 pm
P-U! That pungent odour really smells worse than garbage. I wonder why numerous people enjoy eating it……
Comment by happy_grape
September 6th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
I love this food!! It taste incredibly great! I have missed its flavour for a really long time.
Comment by ophoeng
September 14th, 2008 at 3:48 am
I once tasted the golden one chou doufu in one Hunan style resto at Guang-zhou, China, about 2 years ago, and I do love the taste. The smell is not as bad as they -who don’t like- said.
Trust me, you will love it once you tasted it.
To be honest, there is no exactly the same chou doufu in Indonesia. One that similar is called ‘tahu gejrot’ (originally produced by Ciledug-Cirebon area people), fried, served with crushed chilli, shallot and palm sugar in sauce of palm sugar + water, the smell is much lesser than chou doufu.
Comment by bonnie
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:14 pm
chou doufu smelt lousy but taste delicious!
Comment by alex
March 12th, 2009 at 2:19 am
Oh gosh, this reminded me of my trip to Taiwan a couple of years back. I tell you, even an elephant will run away from the smell. It’s horrible! Puke…
Comment by Steve C
April 4th, 2009 at 6:22 am
I’ve been living in Taiwan a year now, and now I love the taste of chou doufu, although the strong smell does take some getting used to. However, I recently tasted durian–which has its own putrid stench–and couldn’t take more than one bite…yuk!
Comment by kristanto
January 5th, 2010 at 10:15 am
my name is kris.i am from indonesia.i need receipt stinky tofu and please help me if you know.send email to d_xris@yahoo.com.
Comment by Trish
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:08 am
My parents wern born and raised in Taiwan (and me and my bro in the USA) so trips to Taiwan were frequent. Stinky tofu was one of the popular night market dishes we had often. It's does smell like the sewer, but it tastes really good- just don't think of poop when you're eating it and you're good. You can tell when a stinky tofu vendor is nearby- the smell wafts down the street- oh wait, that could be the sewer drain there…
The picture of stinky tofu provided in the article is an unappetizing one- I don't know where he/she got thst pic- stinky tofu doesn't normally look like that. It looks to me like either that tofu was burned or its not tofu at all- maybe a dish of pig or duck's blood cake (the kind where the blood is mixed with sticky rice). Unless there's a black version of stinky tofu I didn't know about. In any case a different pic should have been used.
Comment by Trish
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:08 am
Here's a couple examples of what stinky tofu really looks like:
http://http.cdnlayer.com/smoola/00/00/5d/e2bf8b3b...
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yZZjAGUiUNM/R1AMBg6q-WI...
As you can see there are two types of stinky tofu: the fried kind and the stewed kind. The fried kind are obviously fried and commonly served alongside a kimchi product (pickled veggies) and either drizzled with soy sauce/paste or provided with it for dipping. Stewed tofu, is when the tofu is cooked in a (spicy) sauce, or more often in a (spicy) soup, many times with other ingredients like vegtables, and duck's blood…. Both are tasty, and while fried stinky tofu was more popular when I was a kid, these days the stewed version is more popular.
Comment by Trish
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:08 am
I remember watching a segment of Amazing Race Asia (a version of Amazing Race that takes place across Asia) that took place in Taiwan. One of the challenges was to eat a bowl of stewed stinky tofu. Not a simgle person could get through their bowl. Several people threw up. Now, the bowls were pretty big ones- like a whole meal really, so I think they could have down sized it a bit- maybe just three or four pieces of tofu; but it is very entertaining to me that a dish I enjoy was so unpalatable to them. I guess they were focusing too much on the smell.
Comment by Trish
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:08 am
Here's a couple examples of what stinky tofu really looks like:
http://http.cdnlayer.com/smoola/00/00/5d/e2bf8b3b...
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yZZjAGUiUNM/R1AMBg6q-WI...
As you can see there are two types of stinky tofu: the fried kind and the stewed kind. The fried kind are obviously fried and commonly served alongside a kimchi product (pickled veggies) and either drizzled with soy sauce/paste or provided with it for dipping. Stewed tofu, is when the tofu is cooked in a (spicy) sauce, or more often in a (spicy) soup, many times with other ingredients like vegtables, and duck's blood…. Both are tasty, and while fried stinky tofu was more popular when I was a kid, these days the stewed version is more popular.