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April 13, 2017

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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Stinky tofu: hard on nose but pleasing to tongue

By Xu Wenwen | 00:01 UTC+8 April 13, 2017 | Print Edition

STRONGER the smell, better the taste. Stinky tofu is fermented tofu with a strong — some say unpleasant — smell. Like Limburger and Vieux-Boulogne have their own select fans, stinky tofu is widely favored in China and its lovers insist that it tastes much better than it smells.

Chinese stinky tofu (choudoufu) was created by chance. It is said that one hot summer in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Wang Zhihe, a scholar who failed the imperial exam, decided to open a tofu shop in Beijing. He was worried that the tofu would get spoiled in the heat and become inedible. He therefore preserved it in a jar and added some salt water, but forgot to remove it until winter.

When he reopened the jar months later, the tofu smelled putrid and was gray-green with long mold hairs. Wang was thrifty and didn’t want to waste it. So he decided to try it and, to his surprise, found it delicious.

The secret of tofu’s taste lies in the thick gravy used to ferment the tofu. Traditionally, the gravy is made from dozens of ingredients like sesame, edible amaranth and Chinese cinnamon. The tofu is fermented after being marinated for several hours in the gravy.

Stinky tofu varies around China, so are the gravy recipes. In east China, stinky tofu is light creamy in color, while in central China, the choudoufu is a hue of dark green or black.

Hangzhou citizens have enjoyed stinky foods for centuries. They fry, stew, steam, or saute the curd, sometimes with other ingredients, mostly pork, green soybean and shrimp.

We introduce some of the recipes and local restaurants that serve choudoufu dishes.

Steam

If you have the courage to try, steamed choudoufu’s flavor is rich and is a nice balance of salty and umami as it is steamed with meat or shrimp.

Roadside restaurant Lan Bian Wan makes really tasty steamed choudoufu. Its recipe is simple: first smash the tofu, then mix it with minced pork as well as black sesame, and then steam it.

Tofu soaks up the fatness and umami from the meat, while the sesame ensures a crunchy feel with a pleasing scent.

A local woman, enjoying a bite, blurted out: “how come it is so good!”

The price is good too, only 20 yuan (US$2.9).

 

• Lan Bian Wan 兰边碗

Address: 45-3 Shiwukui Lane

Tel: 152-6709-1869

Deep-fry

At roadside food stalls, choudoufu is usually deep fried and served with chili sauce. Part of the offensive odor is removed while frying and is covered by a hot and spicy sauce.

Its clear cube shape and appetizing golden color can be a good start for beginners. The fried stinky tofu is a popular night-time snack, and is usually found at night markets and roadside stands.

Fat Sister is known for making the best deep-fried stinky tofu in Hangzhou — even well-known food critic Shen Hongfei testifies to this claim. About 30 years ago, Fat Sister stood outside West Lake Cinema, running her small stinky tofu business from 10pm until the wee hours of the morning. People remembered her cooking skills, but not her name, thus becoming famous simply as Fat Sister.

Initially, most of her customers were people going to the cinema, but as her fame grew, people started queuing up even before she opened her stall at 10pm.

Two years ago the store closed, only to reopen by the end of this month.

Another eatery known for deep-fried stinky tofu is Shi Huo in Zhuantang Town. Its choudoufu has golden porous surface that is both crispy and tender, with smooth tofu inside.

After all, frying stinky tofu looks deceptively easy — throw the tofu into oil and turn on the fire. However, the timing, the amount of oil and quality of tofu all matter greatly. Shi Huo also serves other deep-fried snacks from chicken wings to small croakers. Despite its small size, the restaurant boasts fairly good tableware. A warning is that the restaurant smells of stinky tofu all day long.

 

• Fat Sister 胖大姐臭豆腐

Address: Rm 204, 26 Hubin Rd

 

• Shi Huo 食货

Address: Rm 216, 2/F, No. 3 Mansion, Ginza Mall, the crossing of Hangfu Rd and G320 National Highway

Tel: 136-0580-9559

Saute

To saute the stinky tofu is to keep much of its smell. The hot stinky smell can last for a long while that can overwhelm other dishes as well. So be ready to rave about it or loathe it.

At Hangzhou restaurant, Good Dinning Hall (Haoshitang), chef/owner Ma Kunshan pan-fries stinky tofu to give a crispy crust before sauting them with soy sauce and sugar. Despite the strong smell, the taste is as good as pork stewed with soy sauce.

The restaurant also serves deep-fry stinky tofu with chili sauce.

 

• Good Dinning Hall 好食堂

Address: Inside Dongshannong residential area on Xiyanghong Rd

Tel: (0571) 8138-7520

Hangzhou


 

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